Drowning the future

Pakistan is once again grappling with devastating floods, a recurring crisis that leaves a trail of destruction. While the immediate focus will inevitably be on counting the dead and tallying the damage to roads, bridges, and embankments, the article contends that this assessment misses the most critical casualty: the future of the nation's children.

The floods, like those that have preceded them, are not merely destroying physical infrastructure. They are dismantling the educational foundations of millions. Children are missing crucial weeks of school, disrupting their learning and development. This educational disruption, coupled with increased health risks such as severe acute malnutrition and malaria contracted from collapsed sanitation systems, creates a long-term crisis that rebuilding roads cannot fix.

Pakistan's demographic reality, 40 percent of its population under 15 and 93 million children of school age, underscores the urgency. Decades of underinvestment in health (less than 1 percent of GDP) and education (less than 2 percent of GDP), even amidst repeated disasters, have left the country vulnerable. The article argues that the cycle of destruction and inadequate response is drowning Pakistan's future, a consequence far more profound than the immediate economic costs.