The national dailies have reported from Islamabad (Jan. 27) by quoting UNICEF as saying: Pakistans Sindh province, hit hard by last years floods, is suffering levels of malnutrition almost as critical as Chad and Niger, with hundreds of thousands of children at risk, UNICEF said on Wednesday (Jan 26). The report further said: A survey conducted by the provincial government and the UN Childrens Fund revealed malnutrition rates of 23.1 per cent in northern Sindh and 21.2 per cent in the south. Those rates are above the 15 percent emergency threshold set by the World Health Organisation and are at a par with some of the poorest parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Northern Sindh also had a 6.1 percent severe acute malnutrition rate and southern Sindh had 2.9 percent, both far above the WHO thresholds. UNICEF chief of communication Kristen Elsby told Reuters: We are looking at hundreds of thousands of children at risk. Elsby further said it was unclear if the Augusts floods had caused a spike in malnutrition, but that it had revealed the extent of the problem because babies and mothers were being screened for the first time. People were already vulnerable and this kind of kicked the chair out from under them, she said. It appears from the report that a human disaster like Chad and Niger could occur in Sindh, incase the government fails to take pre-cautionary measures. The people of Sindh have no more hope from the federal government led by Prime Minister Gilani as despite attending the international conference on climate change in Islamabad (Jan 13, 2009) and receiving categorical warning of devastating floods about 19 months ahead by the participants experts, he miserably failed to take pre-emptive measures to reduce ruination of flood. On the contrary, his statement was on record by claiming that Sindh has faced low loss in floods. I request Secretary General of UN to personally intervene and take measures to avoid Chad and Niger-like situation in Sindh as reported by UNICEF. MOHAMMAD KHAN SIAL, Karachi, January 28.