Pakistan Floods

As floodwaters recede, waterborne illness remains and hospitals are filling with children.

Imam Ali owns a small property in Tando Masti Khan, a village in Pakistan’s province of Sindh. When a historic monsoon season left one-third of the nation underwater last year, Ali lost everything, including his home and crops. He moved to Larkana with his family for a fresh start, but hardship continued when Ali’s son, Sajjad, became ill with acute gastroenteritis.

When Ali rushed Sajjad to the hospital, his son was already experiencing shock. Thankfully, it wasn’t too late – quick action from medical staff at an ER run by ChildLife Foundation helped Sajjad recover in four hours, likely saving his life.

Pakistan’s unprecedented flooding disrupted the lives of 33 million people. Sudden homelessness and poverty are just a handful of the crises people are battling daily -- waterborne diseases, for instance, have put an estimated 3.4 million Pakistani children at extreme risk for illness and death.

In the flooding’s aftermath, Brother’s Brother Foundation signed a grant that provided more than 2,000 children in dire need of medical attention with free emergency care. Children battling illness similar to Sajjad’s received care from professionals at the ChildLife Foundation, an organization committed to providing children with high-quality healthcare at the organization’s 12 state-of-the-art emergency rooms and 30 primary health clinics.

In response to the shortage of medical supplies in Pakistan’s hospitals, BBF also sent ChildLife Foundation a shipment of exam gloves, IV infusion sets, and IV catheters donated by Allegheny Health Network. As the health crisis in Pakistan continues, so does BBF’s response. In January, BBF provided ChildLife Foundation with a grant to purchase surgical equipment in short supply throughout the country.