WHO-backed Kangaroo Mother Care has supported 36,000 low-weight infants in Pakistan since 2021
WHO-backed Kangaroo Mother Care has supported 36,000 low-weight infants in Pakistan since 2021/node/2614903/pakistan
WHO-backed Kangaroo Mother Care has supported 36,000 low-weight infants in Pakistan since 2021
In this photograph taken on June 6, 2024 an infant is weighed on a machine at a maternity clinic in Baba Island along the Karachi Harbour, in Karachi. (AFP/File)
ISLAMABAD: Nearly 36,000 newborns with low birth weight have been treated at Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) centers across Pakistan since 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) said this week, adding that the low-cost intervention is helping reduce illness and hospital stays for vulnerable infants.
The approach, known as KMC, promotes skin-to-skin contact between mothers and babies, exclusive breastfeeding and early discharge from hospital. WHO says it has supported 17 such centers nationwide, where infants weighing 2 kilograms or less receive care.
WHO says the initiative is particularly significant in Pakistan, which has one of the worldâs highest neonatal mortality rates, with more than 40 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to the World Bank.
By teaching mothers to provide prolonged skin-to-skin contact, sometimes for up to eight hours a day, the centers are helping families keep premature and underweight babies alive even in resource-limited settings.
âWe stayed at the Kangaroo Mother Care Center because Aizal had low weight, only 2 kilograms,â Faiza, a mother from Haripur in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was quoted as saying in a WHO report. âI was so worried for her, but after being admitted to the center, she became healthy, and I was happy.â
At Haripur District Headquarters Hospital, the KMC unit was inaugurated in 2024 by provincial authorities and WHOâs Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean.
Local paediatrician Dr. Muhammad Iqbal described the facility as âtransforming bookish knowledge into practical care.â
Health workers said the initiative has cut hospital stays and infection rates.
Rafia, head nurse at the unit, said KMC had âresulted in decreased hospital stays for mothers and newborns, and reduced illness rates.â
Mothers also report seeing rapid improvements in their children. Sundus Javed, whose son was admitted with low weight, said:
âI have seen him yawning, moving, and he feels better.â
KARACHI: Pakistanâs flood authority on Thursday warned that the Indus River will reach âvery high floodâ levels at Guddu Barrage, a major dam in Sindh province that regulates flows to southern Pakistan, within 48 hours, as swollen rivers from Punjab move south and officials there reported conditions gradually improving.
Punjab, home to more than half of Pakistanâs 240 million people and its main farming belt, has been devastated since late August when record monsoon rains swelled the Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej rivers simultaneously in a historic first. Punjab officials say 79 people have died and nearly two million acres of farmland submerged in the provinceâs worst flooding in four decades.
According to the Punjab disaster authority, the Chenab River was still carrying heavy volumes on Thursday afternoon, with more than 150,000 cubic feet per second flowing through Trimmu, one of its major control points, and above 90,000 at Qadirabad further downstream.
The Sutlej River was also running high, pushing over 120,000 cubic feet per second through its headworks at Sulemanki and Islam, while the Ravi had stabilized at lower levels. Officials said the overall pattern showed that enormous volumes of water were continuing to drain southward from Punjab into the Indus.
âRiver Indus at Guddu is expected to attain Very High Flood level during the next 48 hours. River Indus at Sukur is expected to attain High Flood level after 48 hours,â the Flood Forecasting Division said.
By Thursday afternoon, Guddu Barrage itself was carrying more than 505,000 cusecs, with gauges upstream at Chachran showing levels steady at nearly 298 feet, officials said.
Guddu and Sukkur are the two main barrages that channel Indus waters into central and southern Sindh, protecting densely populated areas further downstream.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said in a statement Sukkur Barrage had safely handled over 1.1 million cusecs of water in recent days.
âSukkur Barrage is a great masterpiece of 1932 and was built by the best engineers of that time,â he said, adding that âclimate change has made it necessary to enhance the capacity of barrages.â
He said reinforcement works were under way at 45 vulnerable points across the province.
A day earlier, Shah said the âsuper-floodâ threat in Sindh had receded.
âBy the grace of God, the threat of a nine- to ten-lakh cusec flood in Sindh has passed,â he told a private TV channel, according to the provincial authorities.
SOUTHERN PUNJAB
Meanwhile, rescue operations remain focused in southern Punjabâs Jalalpur Pirwala, a tehsil near the city of Multan where the Chenab and Sutlej converge and floodwaters have inundated entire villages.
âWith the help of the Pakistan Army, relief goods are being delivered to the affected areas,â said PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia.
He said 706,000 people had been affected in Jalalpur Pirwala, 362,000 moved to safer places and more than 311,000 livestock relocated.
âRescue operations will continue until all victims are moved to safe places,â he added.
Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari said 3,628 people had been evacuated from Multan in the past three days, and that water levels at key headworks, including Muhammad Wala and Sher Shah Bridge, were âno longer critical.â
Punjab Relief Commissioner Nabil Javed said more than 4.3 million people across the province had been affected and 2.26 million moved to safe places.
He said 396 relief camps, 490 medical camps and 412 veterinary camps were operating, and 1.7 million animals had been relocated.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department forecast no significant rain until at least Sept. 15, giving flooded areas in Punjab time to drain.
But officials have cautioned that swollen rivers would continue pushing south into Sindh for days, requiring close monitoring of dykes and barrages.
Nationwide, nearly 1,000 people have been killed in Pakistan since the monsoon season began on June 26.
âThe floods have caused a lot of destruction,â Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told a cabinet meeting in Islamabad on Wednesday. âToday, after the consultation, the cabinet is announcing a climate emergency and an agricultural emergency.â
KARACHI: Pakistanâs central bank warned this week recent torrential rains and flooding could weigh on the countryâs fragile economic recovery by straining public finances and hurting farmersâ ability to repay loans.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), in its mid-year review of the banking sector, said while inflation had eased and the currency had stabilized, the impact of climate shocks was now a major concern.
âRecent torrential rains and flooding could pose some challenges to the economic recovery, and may exert pressures on the fiscal account,â the report said.
The floods, which have swamped parts of Punjab and Sindh provinces, are expected to hit the agriculture sector hardest. Farmers dependent on seasonal harvests face the greatest repayment risks.
âThe recent heavy floods may weaken the repayment capacity of agri borrowers,â the SBP said, though it noted agriculture loans form a relatively small share of bank lending.
Despite these risks, the central bank said the overall financial system remains strong, pointing to stress tests showing that large, systemically important banks could absorb even severe shocks over the next two years.
âAccordingly, the earning as well as solvency position of the banking sector is likely to remain steady,â the report said, citing âadequate capital cushionsâ and improving business confidence.
Pakistan has faced repeated climate disasters, most notably the 2022 âsuper floodsâ that inundated a third of the country and caused more than $30 billion in damage. T
This yearâs floods have again highlighted the countryâs vulnerability to climate shocks, even as it implements a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program requiring fiscal consolidation.
Rescuers in Pakistan scramble to save residents as swollen rivers reach dangerous levels
Rescuers backed by army raced Wednesday to evacuate thousands from flooded villages near city of Jalalpur Pirwala
Stranded villagers complained those who could afford private boats escaped quickly, leaving poor to wait for rescuers
Updated 11 September 2025
AP
SHER SHAH, Pakistan: Rescuers backed by the military raced Wednesday to evacuate thousands of people from flooded villages near the city of Jalalpur Pirwala in eastern Pakistan, officials said, as authorities struggled to shore up embankments against rising waters which touched the official danger mark.
The rescue operation continued overnight and was ongoing.
The flooding has affected nearly 142,000 people in the area, Relief Commissioner Nabil Javed said. Many displaced residents have moved in with relatives, while others are spending sleepless nights on embankments or in relief camps after their homes were submerged.
On Wednesday, rescue crews in boats were seen crisscrossing the waters, pulling people from trees and rooftops. But many stranded villagers complained that those who could afford private boats escaped quickly, leaving the poor to wait for rescuers.
Since Aug. 23, about 4,000 villages across Punjab have been submerged, affecting more than 4.2 million people, displacing 2.1 million and killing at least 68 after heavier-than-normal monsoon rains and repeated releases of water from overflowing Indian dams, according to the Punjab Disaster Management Authority.
âThose who could pay owners of private boats have already left the village,â said survivor Bilal Ahmed, who spoke from a relief camp. âI paid money to use a private boat to leave my village.â He said food supplies are scarce and displaced families receive only one meal a day.
Residents sit in a rescue boat as they evacuate following monsoon rains and rising water levels in the Chenab River, in Basti Khan Bela, on the outskirts of Jalalpur Pirwala, Punjab province, Pakistan, on September 10, 2025. (REUTERS)
At roadside tents, families waited for food as children cried and women whispered prayers for the waters to recede, hoping for a miracle.
Torrential rains on Wednesday also flooded streets in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province. Officials warned that water from swollen rivers will flow into Sindh this week, raising fears of damage downstream.
On Wednesday, bulldozers and heavy machinery were reinforcing embankments around Jalalpur Pirwala in a desperate attempt to protect the city of about 700,000. Authorities said that if the city is breached, hundreds of thousands of lives could be at risk.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif visited Jalalpur Pirwala and pledged compensation for families who lost relatives, homes and livestock in the floods. In a televised speech, she vowed to âfulfill every promise.â
According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the Ravi, Chenab, and Sutlej rivers are all in high flood, with water levels reaching the danger mark. Jalalpur Pirwala lies at the confluence of the Chenab and Sutlej rivers before they flow south toward Sindh province, where evacuations are underway in anticipation of flooding.
Irfan Ali Kathia, director general of the provincial disaster management authority, said he was confident the city would be saved.
âMore rescue boats have been dispatched,â he said, but he blamed villagers for ignoring repeated warnings. An Associated Press reporter saw families standing knee-deep in muddy water waiting for rescue boats.
For many of those rescued, the future remains uncertain.
âMy wife and children are still trapped in our flooded home,â said Muhammad Arshad, tears in his eyes as he boarded a rescue boat. âWhen the floods came, I was outside the village. For three days, I waited for a boat. Today is my first chance to see them.â
Saima Hussain, 35, who fled her village by an evacuation boat, recounted a haunting scene from her escape. âI saw rescuers pulling a womanâs body from the water,â she said. âHer baby was still alive, clinging to her chest.â
Holding her own baby, she said she had nothing to feed him.
âFor two days, he hasnât had milk,â she said. âGod saved us, but we need help as we are now fighting hunger,â she said. âI hope for a miracle. We pray for the water to recede,â Hussain said.
Since late June, flooding has killed more than 900 people across Pakistan.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates have appointed special representatives to coordinate anti-narcotics efforts and bolster intelligence sharing and joint operations against drug trafficking networks, the interior ministry in Islamabad said on Thursday.
The decision was announced after talks in Islamabad between Pakistanâs Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Sheikh Zayed bin Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, chairman of the UAEâs National Anti-Narcotics Authority.
The move ties into broader regional efforts, following Aprilâs Pakistan-hosted Pak-GCC Anti-Narcotics Conference, where Gulf states agreed to deepen cooperation against the smuggling of heroin, synthetic drugs and precursors across the region.
âFor strengthening anti-narcotics cooperation, Pakistan appointed DG ANF Major General Abdul Mueed, while the UAE appointed Brig. Tahir Gharib as special representative,â a statement from the Pakistani interior ministry said.
Naqvi welcomed the establishment of the UAEâs federal anti-narcotics body and congratulated Sheikh Zayed on becoming its first chairman, calling it a milestone in bilateral cooperation. He said Pakistan was acting as a âfrontline forceâ in the fight against drugs and stressed that those involved in the âheinous tradeâ were being dealt with firmly.
Naqvi cited the arrest of 400 people allegedly involved in smuggling narcotics into the UAE and the seizure of around five tons of drugs, saying such successes were only possible âthrough joint efforts and timely exchange of information.â
He also pointed to an uptick in synthetic drug smuggling in recent months and said Pakistan had launched a crackdown on the criminal networks behind it.
As quoted in the statement, Sheikh Zayed pledged full support from the Emirati side, saying:
âEvery possible cooperation will also be provided by the UAE in the field of anti-narcotics. We must strengthen mutual cooperation so that we can provide a better future for coming generations.â
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces killed 19 militants in three separate operations in the countryâs northwest this week, the militaryâs media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said on Thursday.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad calls âkhwarij,â an early-Islamic term for rebels who declared other Muslims apostates, has intensified attacks in the region in recent years. Pakistani officials often accuse the TTP and separatist groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army of being backed by India, a charge New Delhi denies.
âOn 9-10 September, nineteen Khwarij belonging to Indian Proxy, Fitna al Khwarij were sent to hell in three separate engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province,â the ISPR said.
âWeapons and ammunition were also recovered from Indian sponsored killed Khwarij, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in these areas,â it added.
According to the statement, security forces first launched an intelligence-based operation in the Guluno area of Mohmand district, where 14 militants were killed after an intense exchange of fire.
A second operation in Datta Khel, North Waziristan, left four militants dead, while another encounter in Bannu district killed one.
ISPR said âsanitization operationsâ were continuing to eliminate any remaining fighters in these areas, reaffirming that security forces were determined to eradicate militant violence from the country.
President Asif Ali Zardari praised the operations, saying the courage and professionalism of Pakistanâs soldiers âcontinue to protect the nation from the scourge of terrorism.â He vowed Pakistan would keep pursuing militants âuntil every last terrorist and their facilitators are brought to justice.â
