Six million children in flood-ravaged Pakistan are at risk of life-threatening diarrhoeal diseases, malnutrition, and pneumonia, aid agencies have said.
Stagnant flood plains in densely populated, poverty-stricken urban areas will become breeding grounds for cholera, mosquitos and malaria, doctors fear.
The United Nations has launched an appeal to raise £293 million for the country, with an estimated seven million people in need of emergency assistance, including food, clean water, shelter and medical care.
About 1,500 people have already been killed by the floods, which hit the country more than two weeks ago and spread south through thousands of small villages.
Mohammed Qazilbash, Save the Children's spokesman in Islamabad, said: "Outbreaks of cholera and malaria are a big concern. In southern Punjab and Sindh there are vast numbers of people living right along the water, some in makeshift houses with very poor hygiene and sanitation at the best of times.
"Children are drinking, washing in and going to the toilet in the same river water. If this sanitation crisis is not tackled now, in six months time, millions and millions of children will be suffering potentially deadly diarrhoea and other diseases."
In southern areas of Pakistan, the flatter, hotter terrain means water can stand for long periods, making the flood plains a breeding ground for mosquitos and malaria.
Meanwhile, doctors working in northern areas of Punjab and Swat Valley have reported sharp increases in patients suffering from water-borne diseases, including diarrhoea, food poisoning, vomiting and fever. Children living in the temporary camps set up for the millions of people displaced by the disaster have been hit by outbreaks of measles.
Mark Bulpitt, head of emergencies for World Vision UK, said: "As we continue to reach those most affected by this flood, we must also focus on the longer-term recovery, prioritising livelihoods and education to ensure more of Pakistan's children do not become victims of child labour.
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