30,000 Children Exposed to Diseases

Over 70,000 people, including 30,000 children, have been left homeless in quake-hit areas, Unicef said Friday, as health workers warned that deadly diseases were spreading.The UN children's agency said they and Pakistani government officials assessed the situation in the worst-hit districts of mountainous Balochistan province and were "concerned about the urgent needs of children and women." "With winter closing in, the most urgent needs of the survivors are shelter, safe drinking water, food, warm clothing and emergency medical assistance," the world body said in a statement.Clean water was a "priority" and Unicef teams had started providing water and sanitation services, and food supplements for pregnant women and young children, it said. "Children are especially vulnerable to diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera," it added. "Most of the water sources in the affected districts have been damaged by the earthquake. Approximately 12,000 people in Ziarat lack safe water and are dependent on supplies from water trucks."The district health officer of the stricken hill town of Ziarat, Ayub Kakar, told AFP that children were already suffering after two nights in the open in sub-zero temperatures. "Due to the cold hundreds of children are being treated for pneumonia, abdominal diseases, diarrhoea and chest problems," he said. "We fear the death toll will rise. Such diseases, if not treated in time, are life-threatening," Kakar said.Tents, blankets, clothes, medicine and antibiotics were still in short supply, he said. Many people in outlying villages have expressed concern that they have gone without help more than two days after the disaster. "Our children are dying, help us," cried Mohammad Khan, in the village of Khanozai high in the mountains. Kakar said children formed the majority of the population in the quake-affected area and many of them were psychologically affected by the tremors, and violent aftershocks that continue to pound the region."Nobody will be without tents, blankets and food rations today," Major Khan Mohammed of the paramilitary Frontier Corps said. Colonel Shahzada Khan said the International Committee of the Red Cross - one of a number of international NGOs in the relief effort, including the World Food Programme and World Health Organisation - had sent 5,000 relief kits. Each kit consists of one tent and 15 days' rations for a family of five."An aerial survey is still being conducted by helicopters in far-flung areas to locate the affected people," said Shahzada, also from the Corps.Meanwhile, alleged militants have been distributing food, medicine and shelter in the areas, finding their strong faith an advantage in the deeply conservative region. Volunteers, including veterans of bitter conflicts in Afghanistan and Kashmir, were welcomed by villagers in remote areas of mountainous Balochistan, amid suspicion of "outside" agencies also working on the relief effort. One of the groups, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which has been on the scene since the 6.4-magnitude quake struck on Wednesday, insist they are not playing politics at a time of dire need and vulnerability. For the first day after the quake, groups like Jamaat-ud-Dawa filled a vacuum left by what residents said was the government's failure to provide immediate aid.A local volunteer, Mohammad Saleem, said: "We have provided people with food, blankets and tents. The thing most people want is tents, which are scarce in the area. We are trying to get more and more tents. We have food, medicines and our own medical teams, which are organised by our subsidiary relief agency, Al-Khidmat," he said. "People are very distressed. The relief activities are very limited. This area is very cold, so despite the provision of food, children are falling ill and it will take a lot of time to reach these children."Labourer Nasrullah, 30, lives in a remote village near Wam. His six-year-old daughter, Aasia, was badly injured in the quake but was now receiving treatment by Jamaat-ud-Dawa medics - after initially being cautious of their help. "We were shy to expose our women to these people because there were no women doctors. But when they convinced us, we were inspired by their religious beliefs," he said. "They said they were serving humanity. We are happy. At least someone approached us and treated our women and children."Another man, Mohammad Hussein, 54, added: "I don't see anyone else coming here to do politics. They have come here to help us and they are all our brothers."Meanwhile, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Farooq Ahmed Khan has said 400 people are being given medical treatment in quake-affected areas of Balochistan in freezing conditions. Talking to PTV, he said NDMA was engaged in rescue and relief operation in the disaster areas of Balochistan.At least 700 families have been affected in Ziarat district who either lost their members or their houses were destroyed in the earthquake, Balochistan Home Department spokesman Zaffar Iqbal said. He said the quake had destroyed only 10 villages in Kawas and Ahmedoon union councils of Ziarat from where a total of 153 causalities and 347 injured had been confirmed. Meanwhile, Pakistan High Commissioner in Malaysia Tahir Mahumd Qazi has appealed to Malaysians to assist Pakistan for providing relief to the homeless.