The camp, which is located on the grounds of a tiny railway station on the outskirts of Fazilpur in the Punjab province of Pakistan, is the sole high ground in a terrain that is dominated by water, and it can house around 500 people.
Among them is a woman named Fahmidah, who is 40 years old and who came with her five children and the family of her husband little over a week ago.
“I need the services of a physician or a midwife. What am I going to do if anything terrible occurs to my child?” At the weekend, Fahmidah, who is nine months pregnant and expected any day now, gave an interview to AFP.
More than 33 million people in Pakistan have been impacted by the flooding that was caused by record monsoon rains. According to the data provided by the government, at least 1,300 people have lost their lives as a direct result of the flooding.
The United Nations Population Fund said on Saturday that at least 128,000 pregnant women in flood-affected regions had an immediate need for medical attention, and that 42,000 of those women are anticipated to give birth within the next three months.
Following the devastating floods that occurred in Pakistan, the Ismaili Imamat has announced that it would be giving US$10 million to fund relief efforts in the country. A donation of $5 million will be sent directly to the government of Pakistan, and an additional $5 million will be given to the agencies in Pakistan that are part of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and are working on the relief operations.

The donation was made after a conversation that took place on Sunday between the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Shahbaz Sharif, and Prince Rahim Aga Khan, the Chair of AKDN’s Environment and Climate Committee and the eldest son of His Highness the Aga Khan, the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. The discussion took place between Mr. Shahbaz Sharif and Prince Rahim Aga Khan at the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).
Prince Rahim has been quoted as saying, “I am profoundly worried about the impact of the present floods in Pakistan, which have been compounded by the consequences of climate change. ”
Because of these floods and the many other weather extremes that are occurring all around the globe, all of us—governments, corporations, communities, and individuals—need to redouble our efforts to confront the climate crisis that threatens to swallow all of us.
The humanitarian and rehabilitative efforts of the government have been given a boost by the Ismaili Imamat’s institutions, which have been called into action.
During the course of the conversation, the Prime Minister of Pakistan conveyed his gratitude to the Ismaili Imamat and the institutions of the AKDN for their unflinching support of Pakistan and its people on behalf of the Pakistani government. In addition to this, he offered his highest appreciation for the job that the institutions of the AKDN have been doing in Pakistan ever since the country gained its freedom. Saira is just 25 years old, but she already has four girls. Despite this, her husband and his family are putting pressure on her to give birth to a male. He has warned her that he would marry someone else if she continues to let him down.
“I had a son after four daughters, but he died,” she told AFP, adding that she subsequently underwent fertility treatment for ten months in order to get pregnant again. This was after she had already given birth to four daughters.
Now, because of the difficult circumstances she is in, there is a potential that she may not be able to take her pregnancy to term.
While Saira is praying for a safe and healthy delivery of a son, Fahmidah is already certain that she will be delivering a male child.
She has made the decision to give him the name Ali Raza, and she has high expectations that he would one day become an important government figure and accompany her on a pilgrimage.

Most of the women have resisted being examined by volunteer male doctors who have visited with aid convoys. In conservative Pakistan, it is often deemed inappropriate for women to consult male doctors, especially for gynaecological issues.

Desperate for attention, Fahmidah tried striking out across flooded fields to reach the city for help, but slipped and fell multiple times and eventually gave up.She pales at the thought of giving birth at the campsite, where stranded villagers and their livestock live side-by-side without sanitation.

The buzzing of flies and mosquitoes is incessant, as is the stench from the surrounding murky brown water, filled with rotting vegetation and excrement.”I have nothing prepared for when the baby comes,” Fahmidah said.”I don’t even have swaddling clothes. It was all washed away in the flood.”Like Fahmidah, five-month pregnant Saira Bibi is desperate for a doctor — she has been experiencing shooting pain along the side of her belly.