Pakistan's Healthcare System Failing to Meet Needs of Vulnerable Populations Amid Climate Disasters

Pakistan's healthcare system is struggling to meet the needs of children and older people who are most at risk of death and disease amid extreme weather events related to climate change. Despite being the fifth most vulnerable country to climate disasters, Pakistan contributes only about 1 per cent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. The country's underfunded healthcare system is overwhelmed by frequent floods and heatwaves, resulting in many preventable deaths, particularly among vulnerable populations.

The report "Uncounted: Invisible deaths of older people and children during climate disasters in Pakistan" by Amnesty International highlights the failures of the healthcare and disaster response systems. The analysis of the 2022 heatwaves and floods, which affected up to 33 million people and displaced an estimated eight million, found that the absence of timely evacuation measures and lack of adequate living conditions for the displaced led to many preventable deaths during and after the floods. The recorded deaths among children at one of the hospitals covered by the report increased by 57 per cent in the months after the flooding.

Key Takeaways:

Pakistan's healthcare system is failing to meet the needs of vulnerable populations, such as children and older people, amid climate disasters.
Frequent floods and heatwaves are overwhelming the underfunded healthcare system, leading to many preventable deaths.
The report found that the absence of timely evacuation measures and lack of adequate living conditions for the displaced contributed to many preventable deaths during and after the floods.
Recorded deaths among children at one hospital increased by 57 per cent in the months after the flooding.
The healthcare system is also overwhelmed, with primary health clinics not equipped to deal with the upsurge in patients suffering from the heat.
Cooling centres were set up, but they were too few, and most people were unaware of them, highlighting gaps in the healthcare system's public awareness efforts.
Less than 5.0 per cent of deaths are recorded in any way in Pakistan, and the report spoke to dozens of people whose relatives' deaths could have been credibly caused by extreme heat but were not registered as such.

Statistics:

1 per cent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions are contributed by Pakistan.
33 million people were affected by the 2022 heatwaves and floods.
8 million people were displaced as a result of the 2022 heatwaves and floods.
57 per cent increase in recorded deaths among children at one hospital in the months after the flooding.
71 per cent higher overall deaths in September 2022 than the monthly average for the year.
1.5 million people were affected by the floods in 2024.
Less than 5.0 per cent of deaths are recorded in any way in Pakistan.

Sources:

Amnesty International report "Uncounted: Invisible deaths of older people and children during climate disasters in Pakistan".