In Pakistan's Swat valley, health workers reach out to women and children already struggling

The scenic Swat valley in Pakistan’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is facing a complex emergency situation. Since May 2009 military operations and conflict have ravaged the area and in July 2010 floods came, affecting some 3.8 million people in the province and devastating thousands.

The impact on the health and nutritional status of families has been severe, especially for children and women.

“Children and women were badly affected by the conflict and we had not yet completed the early recovery work when the worst floods hit us,” said Javed Afridi, Project Coordinator for the Abaseen Foundation, a non-governmental UNICEF partner in Pakistan. With partners like Abaseen, UNICEF is conducting social mobilization activities for ‘Mother and Child Days’ and other health and vaccination campaigns in the Swat valley.

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