U.N. expresses concern over flooding in Pakistan; UNICEF says 2.5M children affected

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday expressed concern over widespread flooding in Pakistan and "pledged the United Nations' continued commitment to supporting the government in its efforts to respond to the humanitarian needs of the more than five million people in the affected areas," the U.N. News Centre reports. In a statement, Ban said he is "particularly worried about the situation in the southern area of Sindh province where people are in urgent need of food, shelter, safe water and access to health services," according to the news service.

According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 230 people have been killed, more than 300,000 displaced and 1.1 million homes destroyed or damaged by flooding so far, the U.N. News Centre notes (9/15). BBC News reports UNICEF has warned that 2.5 million children have been affected by the flooding and the international aid organization Oxfam has launched an emergency response in Sindh province (9/14).