Effects of floods on health outcomes in Pakistan: a mini review

Abstract

Background: Floods are one of the most horrific natural disasters leading to loss of productivity, damage to infrastructure and significantly increasing economic stress for any country. According to World Health Organization (WHO), recently 2 billion people around the world and 33 million people in Pakistan are affected by floods.  Since these floods can also increase public health complications, the current systematic review aimed to evaluate the adverse effects of floods on health outcomes in Pakistan. Methods: Considering these situations, a literature search was conducted on 5th March 2025 with a 15-year temporal restriction (2010-2025) to ensure more recent studies showing the effects of climate change in recent era. The search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases by entering the following search terms: (“floods” or “monsoon” or “hazards” or “risk” or “catastrophe”) and (“health” or “diseases” or “illnesses” or “sickness” or “complications” or “infections” or “outbreaks”) and (“Pakistan”).Since, the initial search resulted in 781 articles, screening titles and employing inclusion/exclusion criteria led to a total of 17 articles, which became part of this review. Results: The results found a significant rise in outbreaks of dengue fever, malaria, and water-borne diseases during floods in Pakistan. Besides various other diseases, risks, such as diarrhea and skin infections, were identified in our findings. Our study found that floods cause adverse health outcomes and consequences for people of Pakistan. Floods affect the entire system of a country and create significant challenges for its healthcare system. Conclusion: The dearth of relevant literature necessitates conducting further quantitative and qualitative studies, focusing on health effects of floods in the country.