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ISLAMABAD, 31 May (AP) \u2014 A new study by the United Nations children\u2019s agency says developing resilient energy systems to power health facilities in Pakistan could avert over 175,000 deaths by 2030.<\/p>\n
UNICEF said improved energy resilience would also contribute $296 million to the country\u2019s fragile economy over the next 20 years by reducing maternal, adult and infant mortality.<\/p>\n
The study, conducted by UNICEF\u2019s Economist Impact Unit and released Friday, comes as Pakistan is experiencing an intense heatwave that has sickened thousands of people, further burdening the country\u2019s health care system.<\/p>\n
Temperatures in various parts of Pakistan soared as high as 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday. Authorities are urging people to stay indoors, hydrate and avoid unnecessary travel. Demand for power has surged because of the high temperatures, putting a strain on existing electricity sources.<\/p>\n
UNICEF said resilient energy refers to reliable, flexible, accessible and quality power supplies that can withstand and recover quickly from unanticipated shocks, such as power outages and floods.<\/p>\n
It said more resilient energy supplies for schools would reduce dropout rates and improve children\u2019s learning so they can earn more in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren depend on schools, health centers and safe drinking water for their survival, yet these facilities often don\u2019t have the electricity supply to function optimally. As the current heatwave grips the country, electricity needs have skyrocketed, leading to shortfalls that can endanger children\u2019s health,\u201d said Abdullah Fadil, the UNICEF representative in Pakistan.<\/p>\n
UNICEF said 3.5 billion people live without reliable power worldwide.<\/p>\n
It said climate change is contributing to the disruption of generation and distribution of energy in Pakistan, where floods triggered by climate-induced monsoon rains in 2022 killed 1,739 people. It said almost half of the water infrastructure, such as storage tanks, wells and supply lines, was damaged by the floods.<\/p>\n
This year, Pakistan recorded its wettest April since 1961 with more than double the usual rainfall for the month. Heavy rains last month killed scores of people and destroyed property and farmland.<\/p>\n
Daytime temperatures in May have soared as much as 8 C (14 F) above average temperatures for the month over the last 20 years, raising fears of flooding in the northwest because of glacial melting.<\/p>\n
UNICEF said it helped restore water systems for 350,000 people in 375 locations after the 2022 floods and has also implemented several solar electrification initiatives in Pakistan.<\/p>\n
\u201cPakistan has an abundance of renewable resources and by investing in them we are tapping into a goldmine to help children,\u201d Fadil said. \u201cWe need the private sector to play a bigger role as public sector resources will not be enough. This is everybody\u2019s business.\u201d<\/p>\n
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ISLAMABAD, 31 May (AP) \u2014 A new study by the United Nations children\u2019s agency says developing resilient energy systems to power health facilities in Pakistan could avert over 175,000 deaths by 2030. UNICEF said improved energy resilience would also contribute $296 million to the country\u2019s fragile economy over the next 20 years by reducing maternal, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-241359","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241359\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}