UN: 2 million Pakistani flood-hit children out of school

Two million children remain out of school in areas devastated by summer floods in Pakistan, the United Nations children’s agency said.

The floods, which began in mid-June, damaged or destroyed nearly 27,000 school buildings, UNICEF said, adding that it could take weeks or months for the flooding to fully recede.

In some places, the roofs of school buildings are just beginning to emerge, it said.

Record-breaking floods — which experts say are exacerbated by climate change — have killed 1,735 people and displaced 33 million inside Pakistan, mostly in the hardest-hit provinces of Sindh and Balochistan.

According to Pakistani officials, 647 children were killed in the floods.

UNICEF education chief Robert Jenkins, who visited some flood survivors on Thursday, later said it was unclear when children who were still absent would be able to return to school.

“Almost overnight, millions of Pakistani children lost family members, homes, safety and education under the most painful circumstances,” he said.

UNICEF has set up more than 500 temporary learning centres in disaster-affected areas and provided support and school supplies for teachers and flood victims.

Pakistan also asked the international community to expand aid to the country’s flood survivors, who are now threatened by the coming winter.

On Wednesday, China announced an additional £60.4 million in aid to Pakistan, bringing its flood aid to Pakistan to £133.2 million. The news came during a visit to Beijing by Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

China is by far the biggest contributor to the flood response in Pakistan, followed by Washington, which has provided £86.2 million in aid since June. The World Bank estimates the floods caused £35.5 billion in damage.