Attachments
HIGHLIGHTS
- The 2024 monsoon season resulted in 357 lives lost (over 50 per cent children), 143,101 displaced people, damaged critical infrastructure, and submerged farmland, threatening food security and livelihoods.
- Support for Afghans residing in Pakistan remained complex, with the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan creating uncertainty. Some 315,100 Afghans returned in 2024.
- UNICEF continued to support access to critical nutrition services to reduce acute malnutrition as one in five children in Pakistan is acutely malnourished. UNICEF admitted 92,287 children (50,719 girls) for severe acute malnutrition treatment.
- UNICEF’s response ensured access to education in emergencies for at least 165,858 children (76,200 girls).
- UNICEF's 2024 Humanitarian Appeal for Children totaled $135.6 million. Despite generous contributions from donors, a 72 per cent funding gap severely strained implementation of lifesaving humanitarian and risk reduction support.
FUNDING OVERVIEW AND PARTNERSHIPS
In 2024, UNICEF’s appeal totaled US$135.6 million to sustain the provision of life-saving services for women and children in Pakistan in response to emergencies. Funding from Australia, the European Union, France, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, Japan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, the United States of America, as well as private contributions through UNICEF’s National Committees and unearmarked thematic emergency funding contributed significantly to UNICEF Pakistan’s humanitarian response in 2024. UNICEF expresses its sincere gratitude to all public and private donors for the contributions throughout the year. UNICEF received US$21.7 million towards the Humanitarian Action for Children appeal and carried over US$15.7 million from 2023. By the end of 2024, this amounted to US$37.4 million, covering only 28 per cent of the appeal – leaving a severe and restrictive funding gap.
SITUATION OVERVIEW AND HUMANITARIAN NEEDS
Pakistan's susceptibility to natural hazards is growing due to its distinct geophysical characteristics and the intensifying effects of climate change, positioning it first on the Global Climate Risk Index. Since 2005, the nation has experienced over ten significant disasters, severely impacting Pakistan financially, economically, socially, and environmentally. The 2022 floods, which resulted in loss and damages amounting to over US$ 30 billion, underscore the critical need for proactive disaster management approaches.
The 2024 monsoon season brought severe rains from July to September, with localized heavy rains and flash flooding, causing loss of life and damage to houses and crops particularly in Balochistan and Sindh provinces, where a total of 38 districts were affected. Rainfall was above average during the entire monsoon season, and it ranked the eighth wettest monsoon in 64 years. According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), 357 lives were lost, 668 people got injured, and about 501km of roads, 42 bridges, 58,191 houses and 2,282 livestock were affected or damaged during the monsoon from 1 July to 13 September 2024. The flooding further displaced 143,101 people, damaged critical infrastructure and submerged farmland threatening already vulnerable food security and livelihoods.
Pakistan’s ongoing nutrition crisis continues to exacerbate vulnerabilities among children and is further intensified during emergencies. Key drivers of acute malnutrition include poor maternal nutrition, deficient sanitation and hygiene facilities, inadequate childcare and feeding practices, food price inflation, food insecurity, and limited access to essential nutrition services. In October 2023, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis in Pakistan reported 2.14 million children acutely malnourished. Out of these, nearly 600,000 were children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), requiring immediate treatment. The SAM rate in the country is twice that of the South Asia region and four times higher than the global average. High inflation has further made nutrient-rich food less accessible, significantly increasing the cost of healthy diets. The situation is further aggravated by flood-induced emergencies. Acute food insecurity has risen, driven by shocks such as droughts and floods.