The media should keep highlighting the plight of flood victims as the recent catastrophic floods in Pakistan have destroyed nearly 27,000 schools, preventing more than two million children in the country from returning to their education, United Nation spokeswoman in Pakistan, Amena Ali Kamal said on Monday.
Talking to the PTV news, she stressed that the news media have an important public-interest role in highlighting the extent of such catastrophes and identifying the need for rescue efforts, adding, there is a dire need to focus on behavior modification.
The government, local administration, and developed countries need to work round the clock to deal with this calamity and provide adequate aid to the flood victim families, adding, the world must take climate change seriously, if not for our sake then for the sake of our future generations.
The longer schools remain closed will be the greater risk of children dropping out, increasing their likelihood of being forced into child labor and child marriage, she expressed fear.
UNICEF has established more than 500 temporary learning centers in the worst-affected districts and supported teachers and children with education supplies but there is a need to urgent rehabilitate the damage schools.
She further said that at the 27th UN Climate Change Conference in Egypt, Pakistan will strongly present its case at the summit and will highlight the devastation caused in the country due to the massive flooding is the result of climate change, adding, as a global community we should come forward and take emergency steps to control its effects.
She said COP27 is another important opportunity for Pakistan to highlight the issue of climate change. COP27 is taking place at a time when millions of people in Pakistan are facing severe adverse impacts of climate change, she said, adding, as the main stakeholder, Pakistan would make positive contributions to the global climate change debate and its collective action.—NNI
