Angelina Jolie, the Hollywood actor and special envoy of the UN Refugee Agency, has toured the worst-affected areas in Pakistan as the country grapples to contain the outbreak of diseases among hundreds of thousands of flood survivors.
The death toll in the flood-devastated country has reportedly soared to 1,569, according to the National Disasters Management Authority, amid fears many more will die as vast areas of the country remain submerged.
Jolie visited people displaced by the floods with international aid organisation International Rescue Committee [IRC] earlier this week in an effort to raise awareness.
"I've seen those lives who were saved," she said, while adding that without sufficient aid, others "won't be here in the next few weeks, they won't make it".
Her comments, made when visiting the country's flood response centre, were carried on video footage shared by the country's military on Wednesday.
Authorities and aid workers have said more immediate help is needed for displaced families exposed to swarms of mosquitoes and other hazards, such as snake and dog bites.
Sixteen million children affected
Local aid worker in Sindh, Obaid Ullah told the ABC via phone the rains have subsided now but the stranded water was of particular concern, especially for children and pregnant women.
"We are trying our best with all available resources to provide the basics such as food and drinking water, but the measures beyond that such as medicine and hygiene provisions are difficult to manage."
The UN Children Agency, UNICEF, has estimated the number of affected children to be around 16 million.
It said in a statement that children were already suffering from high rates of malnutrition, and poor access to water and sanitation even before the floods.
"Outbreaks of watery diarrhoea, typhoid and malaria are increasing as millions of people sleep in temporary shelters or in the open near stagnating water," it said.
Despite the efforts of the government and local and foreign relief organisations, many people are in dire need of food, shelter, medical assistance and medicines.
With Pakistan's already weak health system and lack of support, displaced families have complained of being forced to drink and cook with unsafe water.
"We know it can sicken us, but what to do? We have to drink it to stay alive," flood victim Ghulam Rasool told local Geo News TV as he stood near where his home was washed away in southern Pakistan.
A historic and intense monsoon, which dumped about three times as much rain as Pakistan's three-decade average, combined with glacial melt to cause unprecedented flooding.
The deluge, which scientists say was exacerbated by climate change, has affected nearly 33 million people in the South Asian nation of 220 million.
It has swept away homes, crops, bridges, roads and livestock in damages estimated at $US30 billion ($45.5 billion).
"I've never seen anything like this ... I'm overwhelmed," said Jolie, who has made several trips to Pakistan including after deadly floods in the country's south in 2010.
Survivors get one meal day
Hailed as a "national hero" for her tireless rescue and relief efforts, Quratulain Wazir, a local government official in the Khyber Pakhtunkwa province, told the ABC via phone flood-affected families were only getting one meal a day due to acute shortages of funds.
"Every day, thousands of women gather outside my home and office, but we do not have enough means to support them," Ms Wazir said.
In viral social media posts, Ms Wazir was seen during the floods clad in traditional Pashtun dress marching through floodwaters, coordinating early warning and relief efforts credited with saving many lives.
She said that as winter approached, it would get even more difficult for the flood victims in the northern parts of the country.
"In my district [Nawshehra] alone, there are over 25,000 flood victims that need help," she said.
Dr Farah Naureen, Mercy Corps' country director for Pakistan, said the aid had been "slow to arrive".
"We need to work in a coordinated manner to respond to their immediate needs," she said in a statement late on Monday, prioritising clean drinking water.
Health and nutrition stand out as the most important needs of the displaced population, she said.
Pakistan's finance ministry said it had approved 10 billion rupees ($63.7 million) for the disaster management agency to use for procuring flood relief supplies and other logistics.
The country's premier, Shahbaz Sharif, sought the attention and help of world leaders at the UN General Assembly where he outlined the devastation caused by the record-breaking floods in Pakistan.
He also urged business community in Pakistan to step forward and donate.
"I have been informed that there is a shortage of food for children, I appeal to all philanthropists, and especially the baby food manufacturers, to expedite products and donate it," he said.
France plans to host an international conference this year on climate-resilient reconstruction of Pakistan's flood-affected areas.
The announcement came after the Pakistani prime minister met French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the 77th Session of the UNGA in New York, said a statement issued by Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Malaria, typhoid and diarrhoea spreading quickly
United Nations Pakistan said malaria, typhoid and diarrhoea cases were spreading quickly, adding 44,000 cases of malaria were reported this week in the southern province.
The Sindh provincial government said the makeshift health facilities and mobile camps in the province's flooded areas had treated more than 78,000 patients in the past 24 hours, and more than 2 million since July 1.
Six of them died, it said.
It confirmed 665 new malaria cases among internally displaced families over the same period, with another 9,201 suspected cases.
It said a quarter of the more than 19,000 patients screened in the past 24 hours across the province were positive, a total of 4,876.
Director general health services for south-western Balochistan province, Noor Ahmed Qazi, said malaria was spreading quickly in regions around stagnant waters.
"We're receiving malaria patients in large numbers on a daily basis in medical camps and hospitals," he told Reuters.
"We need more medicines and test kits in flood-hit areas."
ABC/Reuters
