Malta to donate medical supplies to flood hit Pakistan

Health and Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne announced on Twitter that Malta will be donating medical supplies as humanitarian aid to flood-hit Pakistan.

The south Asian country has been hit with the deadliest floods in five years which have killed more than 1,300 people and affected at least 33 million, or 15% of the population.

It is estimated that the floods have caused at least €10 billion in damages to infrastructure, homes and farms.

Record torrential rainfall and melting glaciers in Pakistan’s northern mountains led to devastating floods and submerged almost a third of the country’s territory underwater.

Unicef, the United Nations’ children agency stated that more children were at risk of dying from diseases, due to a shortage of clean water.

Aurélie Godet, a press officer with Médecins du Monde, told CNN that many children were going to their clinics with severe injuries on their feet, as they had no shoes.

She explained that some people could not afford their regular medicine due to price increases in medicine and food.

According to the charity organisation Action Against Hunger, 27 million people in the country did not have access to enough food prior the floods.

The disaster further sparked the debate on climate change and ecological responsibility, as Pakistan produces less than 1% of the global greenhouse gas emissions but is extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change.