Pakistan Appeal

The people of Pakistan face multidimensional deprivations that leave them extremely vulnerable to recurrent and sudden-onset shocks. Climate change contributes to Pakistan being one of the world’s most risk-prone countries, which significantly exacerbates vulnerabilities, especially for women and children. Seasonal changes disrupt food security, causing malnutrition and stunted growth, especially in marginalized communities. Floods displace families, destroy homes, schools and health facilities and impede access to safe water and sanitation, increasing disease risks. 

The interplay of all these circumstances threatens children's well-being and their future prospects and necessitates greater investment in gender-equitable climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and increased resilience of essential social services. The catastrophic floods of 2022, which affected 33 million people (half of them children), provided clear evidence of the need for investing in solutions that reduce the impact of disasters, focusing on vulnerability and inequality and investing in climate change adaptation efforts that reduce disruptions to the country and its children’s growth and development.

Pakistan also grapples with severe food insecurity and persistently high global acute malnutrition rates. Approximately 16 per cent of the population is food insecure and lacks access to essential services, including health care and nutrition, further exacerbating nutritional challenges. Children, in particular, are extremely vulnerable to the effects of malnutrition, which can result in stunted growth, developmental issues and a weakened immune system. Pakistan's global acute malnutrition rate stands at 17.7 per cent, which exceeds the emergency threshold. The severe wasting rate is 6 per cent, and notably higher in children aged 6–59 months. The nutrition of women and girls is of particular concern because high rates of malnutrition put them at risk and also negatively affect birth outcomes. If urgent action is not taken to address this protracted nutrition emergency, the under-five mortality rate could rise. 

The presence and prolonged stay of Afghan populations, who have been in Pakistan for more than four decades, adds an additional load to an already overburdened system. Pakistan currently hosts around 3 million Afghans (49 per cent of them children), and provides them with access to essential services. Afghans are mostly concentrated in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, provinces where there are high levels of multidimensional poverty – further depending the inequities Afghans experience. The continued uncertainty around government efforts to repatriate undocumented Afghans, and potentially Afghans of other legal status, have created increased uncertainty among Afghan populations. Afghan women and girls are especially vulnerable under these conditions.

In 2025, UNICEF will continue supporting the Government of Pakistan in delivering integrated life-saving services during humanitarian crises, in line with the Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action. UNICEF will help the Government and the National Disaster Management Authority prepare for emergencies by addressing existing inequities, strengthening the resilience of essential services and ensuring climate-resilient infrastructure. Contingency plans promoting localization, pre-positioning of supplies and standby partnerships will enable rapid humanitarian responses. 

UNICEF will work through existing systems to provide essential services to prevent malnutrition and strengthen nutrition information systems. Pregnant and lactating women and adolescent girls will receive iron and folic acid and multiple micronutrient supplements to combat nutritional deficiencies, while severely wasted children will be enrolled in treatment programmes. Support groups for parents will be strengthened to enhance infant and young child feeding practices. 

UNICEF will support health services, including antenatal care and measles vaccinations, through mobile teams in the immediate aftermath of an emergency. This will transition back to functional health-care facilities, when possible, supported by community health workers who will raise awareness of healthy practices to safeguard against disease outbreaks and malnutrition. 

WASH plays a vital role in responding to emergencies, contributing to nutrition, health and well-being of children and their families. WASH initiatives will ensure access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education, complemented by solid waste management. UNICEF will ensure access to WASH infrastructure in schools, child-friendly spaces and health-care facilities.

In emergencies, UNICEF will ensure education and learning continuity by providing temporary learning centres and transitional school structures where schools are completely or partially destroyed; supplying education materials; training teachers; and engaging communities to ensure children’s enrolment and retention. 

UNICEF will strengthen child protection and gender-based violence response systems at the provincial and community levels, supporting the social service workforce to extend prevention and response services. UNICEF will support providing key information, along with mental health and psychosocial support and integrated activities, for children at risk and survivors of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation, including for unaccompanied and separated children. Protection from sexual exploitation and abuse underlines all UNICEF programming with partners. 

UNICEF will implement integrated social and behaviour change interventions through community engagement to improve knowledge of and access to essential services and on adopting life-saving practices to reduce vulnerability. UNICEF will develop and roll out an integrated framework for accountability to affected populations, considering in particular girls, women and disabled persons. UNICEF will engage community-based structures to mainstream protection, mitigate gender-based violence and establish complaint and feedback mechanisms.