UN: 3.5 Million Pakistani Children at Risk for Waterborne Diseases

The United Nations says 3.5 million children in Pakistan are at risk from waterborne diseases, warning of a "second wave of death" from the country's devastating floods. U.N. humanitarian spokesman Maurizio Giuliano said Monday as many as six million people face the risk of contracting diarrhea and dysentery if donors do not provide more aid. Sluggish response The U.N. has launched an appeal for $460 million, but charities say the response has been sluggish, with only about 27 percent of the goal being met so far. Hundreds of angry flood victims blocked a highway outside Sukkur in southern Sindh province Monday, demanding government assistance. The protesters held up traffic as they called for food and shelter. Three weeks of monsoon rains have triggered Pakistan's worst flooding, with an estimated 1,600 people killed and 20 million affected in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh provinces. More flooding likely On Monday, authorities said a new wave of flooding was likely along the Indus River in Punjab and Sindh. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon traveled to Pakistan on Sunday and said the flooding was the worst natural disaster he has ever seen. He urged international donors to speed up aid. Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on Monday called the international response to the disaster lamentable. Britain has so far provided roughly $26 million in emergency aid. Plans for 'air bridge' Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Monday that NATO officials are in talks with the Pakistani government to set up an "air bridge" to fly relief goods into Pakistan. Qureshi said Japan has also sent a team to Pakistan to assess needs, including helicopters to access flood-stricken areas. The Pakistani foreign minister is set to attend Thursday's special session of the U.N. General Assembly on the floods. For More Information: http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/asia/UN-35-Million-Pakistani-Children-at-Risk-for-Disease-100766689.html