Flood Victims now fear water–borne diseases, Christian NGOs pledge more funds

Now the victims of a worst flood in recent memory fear of water–borne diseases increased though the monsoon rain stops and the flood has receded.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and Unicef have warned that stagnant waters are "a lethal breeding ground" for diseases such as malaria and dengue fever.

In Uttar Pradesh, the situation is still very serious with people having made homes from carts and torn pieces of tarpaulin along the embankments surrounding the highways.

"This is the worst flooding we've seen for nearly a decade and it will affect children for months to come. Children are already facing a lack of food and water and are at risk of disease from dirty flood water," said Gareth Owen, Head of Emergency Response, Save the Children.

The charity is aiming to raise £2m to supply food, drinking water, shelter and medicines across the region.

“Disease is a major threat , starting with colds and fevers from exposure and living in the open for a extended amount of time, children are also suffering from diarrhoea and the fear of other water borne diseases are very real,” said Reena Samuel, Communications Coordinator, World Vision, who is on the ground to help with the relief efforts.

Meanwhile ‘Christian Aid’ and ‘Save the Children’ have launched appeals with the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (Cafod) pledging extra funds.

It is estimated that more than 1500 have died and a total of more than 30 million in South Asia are affected by this flood. Over 20 million people in Indian state of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Assam are affected; 8 million people in Bangladesh and some 750,000 people in southern Nepal.