Pakistan floods: Country stares at food shortage, disease outbreaks

More than 33 million people, or one in seven Pakistanis, have been affected by the catastrophic flooding, which has devastated a country already trying to revive a struggling economy. In pic: A man looks for salvageable belongings from his flooded home in the Shikarpur district of Sindh Province, Pakistan, Thursday, Sep. 1, 2022. (AP/PTI)

More than 1 million homes have been damaged or destroyed in the past two-and-a-half months, displacing millions of people. Around a half million of those displaced are living in organised camps, while others have had to find their own shelter. In pic: A woman looks for belongings from her flood-damaged home in the Shikarpur district of Sindh Province, of Pakistan. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that the floods have badly destroyed crops, and his government was considering importing wheat to avoid any shortage of food. In pic: A Pakistani family take a rest after salvaging belongings from their flood-hit home, in Charsadda, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

Pakistani health officials on Thursday reported an outbreak of waterborne diseases in areas hit by recent record-breaking flooding, as authorities stepped up efforts to ensure the provision of clean drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people who lost their homes in the disaster.

Diarrhea, skin diseases and eye infections are spreading at relief camps set up by the government across the country. In pic: An elderly man wades through floodwaters in Charsadda, Pakistan, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

According to the UN Population Fund, 6.4 million flood victims in Pakistan need humanitarian assistance. In this photo, a man looks through his flood-damaged home in the Shikarpur district of Sindh Province, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

Days ago, Pakistan and the United Nations issued an appeal for $160 million in emergency funding to Pakistan. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that Pakistan’s flooding, caused by weeks of unprecedented monsoon rains, is a signal to the world to step up action against climate change. The picture shows a woman holding her baby at her home surrounded by floodwaters in the Shikarpur district of Sindh Province, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

Guterres will visit Pakistan on Sept. 9 to tour areas “most impacted by this unprecedented climate catastrophe,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric announced on Tuesday. In pic: A man carries his son as he wades through floodwaters in Charsadda, Pakistan, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)