ISLAMABAD: Country Director of Oxfam in Pakistan Neva Khan has
called upon the international donor community to expedite its response
in order to give critical and life-saving relief to the flood-hit
people in Sindh.
In a statement issued here on Monday, she said
that the lives of those affected by the floods is hanging in a balance
and Millions still don’t have access to food, water, sanitation,
shelter and healthcare.
“While more than seven million people
have been affected by the floods in Sindh since they began less than 50
days ago, Oxfam is urgently calling on the international donor
community to expedite its response in order to give critical and
life-saving relief to those in need. The international aid agency
warned that as the numbers of people affected continue to rise, deaths
could increase and millions of futures destroyed if funding remains
slow,” the country director further said.
She said that
Pakistan cannot afford a slow response to this disaster. Time is of the
essence if the situation is to be controlled, said. Every ounce of
resource available including those stocked up in warehouses must be
mobilized now, she added.
She pointed out that since the launch
of the Government of Pakistan’s appeal to the world community for
assistance responding to the floods, no significant pledges and
disbursements have been made.
According to figures released by
the Foreign Office, China has pledged $4.7 million in relief of which
only $50,000 has been disbursed. Japan has pledged $450,000 in relief
assistance, none of which has been disbursed yet, and Iran has pledged
two planes loaded with relief goods which are still to be delivered.
The
United States is yet to announce any monetary assistance, however it
has already provided food, water, sanitation, shelter and hygiene to
30,000 families, Oxfam stated.
The large sum of the UN’s $365
million flash appeal for the people in Sindh and Balochistan provinces
who’ve been affected by the floods shows the staggering scale of this
disaster, Neva Khan elaborated.
“The numbers of deaths are
increasing each passing day. Hundreds of thousands of people still
remain trapped in flood waters awaiting rescue. Those who have managed
to escape literally have to fight to get hold of the relief supplies
being distributed. The amount of aid available is simply not enough.
The government, international humanitarian and donor community, must
gear-up their response”, said Ms. Khan.
She said that women and
children are the hardest hit. Citing UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
report, she informed that at least 115,000 women in the flood affected
areas are pregnant, and everyday close to 400 women go into labor and
about 60 of them have life-threatening pregnancy complications. Their
immunity against diseases has eroded drastically, and, women who are
already anemic are now more prone to diseases and pregnancy
complications, she said.
She also drew attentions to the
whether situation in the devastated areas saying that as the rains
continue to fall and stagnant waters become breeding grounds for
mosquitoes, women and children are now more vulnerable to water and
vector borne diseases than ever. According to an estimate, over one
million children are at serve risk of contracting flood-related
diseases.
“The resilience of Pakistanis has been pushed over
the edge by two floods in a row. Oxfam places women and children at the
heart of all its operations. We are working around the clock to ensure
women and children have access to clean water and sanitation to help
ward off the threat of diseases” said Khan. Online
