As the scale of the flood crisis in Pakistan continues to grow, World Vision is stepping up efforts to meet the needs of affected families.

World Vision has begun distributing shelter kits, cooking equipment and gas cylinders to families in Pashtun Garhi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KPK). Distributions of floor mats, bedding and food kits to families in Charsada, Nowshera and Peshawar will start within a week.

World Vision has also opened two new health facilities in Koto and Khazana, both in Lower Dir. Over 1,100 patients have been treated for acute respiratory infections, skin infections and diarrhoea at the five health facilities World Vision has opened in the region.

However, continued bad weather continues to hamper the response.

“The communication network is a big problem for us .... we cannot access field teams when they are in the field during rains,” said Dr. Khaleed Rasheed, the Area Manager for Lower Dir.

“Delivery of medicine is yet another big challenge we face in the wake of the damaged Khazana Bypass Bridge.”

Continued rains are creating a miserable start to Ramadan, which begins today. Ramadan marks the 9th month on the Islamic lunar calendar and involves fasting during daylight hours.

Although devastated and hungry, not observing the sacred Ramadan fast is unimaginable for most people, especially in the hardest-hit KPK province.

Pakistan's deadly floods have now affected more than 14 million people in six areas, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). An estimated six million people need food.

Most of those affected have lost houses, belongings, crops and livestock, and are surviving on outside relief and occasional handouts while living in the open. Floodwaters continue devastating entire villages and damaging crops and livestock, as they now make their way into the southern province of Sindh.

To donate to World Vision’s Pakistan floods appeal, click here