ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Humanitarian Forum (PHF) welcomes the
Government’s recent decision to launch a joint humanitarian response in
Sindh, the province most affected by recent monsoon rains, where over
five million people in 22 out of 23 districts are affected by flooding.
In addition to the 270 people reportedly killed, over 500 have
been injured.
Supporting the Government’s decision for joint
humanitarian response, the PHF member organisations immediately
initiated a relief response with a joint assessment of the situation,
which will provide a clearer overview of the full scale of damages and
needs.
PHF urges the Government of Pakistan to facilitate and
allow access and expedite visas for international aid workers so that
much needed help can be extended to the affected population.
“Unfortunately
we have already lost valuable time in reaching out to millions of
affected people and now we must act with a greater degree of urgency in
order to avoid further people from dying due to sickness, lack of food,
clean water, and shelter. Our biggest concern at the moment is getting
immediate life saving assistance to affected population, such as non
food items, clean water, medicines and tents.
The stagnant
water is leading to an increase in diseases such as malaria, dysentery,
cholera, diarrhea and dengue” said Jack Byrne, chairman of the PHF. He
underlined that the situation needs to be tackled before it might
develop into a full scale ‘health disaster’.
With more than
200,000 people being displaced and 4,2 million acres of land being
flooded, a joint response by the international humanitarian community
and the Government of Pakistan is essential in order to reach the
affected population in time. Schools have also been turned into
temporary shelter; disrupting schooling for thousands of children noted
the chairman and reiterated the commitment of the international
humanitarian community to assist the government in all areas affected
by the recent disaster, including education for children.
With
the request from the Government of Pakistan for international
assistance, the United Nations will launch a ‘Rapid response Plan’, by
Saturday September 17, to which donors can contribute much needed
funding for recovery efforts. The PHF represents 41 international aid
organisations at work in Pakistan that share a common goal: to improve
the lives of the most vulnerable. Many of the PHF members are already
working in the affected areas and will therefore be quick in responding
with immediate relief assistance. Online
