Pakistan floods - one year on
Pakistan, one year on
© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-2729/Marta Ramoneda
With the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and upheavals in North Africa and the Middle East grabbing headlines worldwide, aid agencies are struggling to keep a separate disaster in the public consciousness. Child malnutrition in Pakistan constitutes "a humanitarian disaster of epic proportions," they warn.
Large swaths of the nation were inundated by floods last July, forcing people in remote rural communities to seek assistance from organisations like UNICEF. Pakistan still needs money to recover from the emergency, even one year on.
Statistics for the whole of Pakistan aren't yet available, but numbers from the southernmost and most afflicted Sindh province suggest 25% of children under the age of five are severely malnourished. "It's truly as bad as I've seen in the worst emergencies in the world," Karen Allen, deputy director of UNICEF's permanent mission in Pakistan. "The floods just pushed people over the edge."
Pictured left, a little girl runs past latrines provided by UNICEF in the village of Lal Bux Bhugio in Jacobabad District, Sindh Province. Residents estimate their village was flooded by up to 10 feet of water, destroying houses and crops. UNICEF is providing safe drinking water to over three million people per day and sanitation facilities to 1.7 million people.
Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) Limited and UNICEF launched an appeal for assistance in Pakistan. The Federation called on all Soroptimists throughout the Federation to work with its partner organisation, UNICEF, and raise desperately needed funds to help in Pakistan's recovery after the terrible floods. Funds raised so far (1 March 2011) exceed £20,000.
Click on the link above to view the paper that APD Sue Challoner has put together.
One quarter of Pakistan was under water!
The UN has estimated the region’s flooding affected at least 20 million out of Pakistan’s 180 million population and killed 1,600 people. It affected more people than the Boxing Day Tsunami and Haiti earthquake combined!
The devastation is immense; one quarter of Pakistan's entire economy is derived from agriculture and half its population is employed in the agricultural sector. Over 17 million acres of agricultural land have been lost to the flooding. The loss to the cotton-growing industry alone is estimated at $2billion.
UNICEF is working on the ground to ensure that life-saving aid is getting through. This includes safe drinking water, medical supplies and vaccinations for children against measles and polio. Every day the situation for children becomes increasingly critical. UNICEF is desperately appealing for funds to help cover the escalating needs of children affected.
Please donate now to UNICEF’s urgent emergency appeal to help save children in Pakistan.
£30 could immunise 30 children against deadly measles.
£50 could help provide 5 families with access to safe drinking water.
Help children in Pakistan now. Donate to our emergency appeal today.
UNICEF relies entirely on voluntary donations. We receive no funding from the United Nations (UN) budget or the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC).
Donations from SIGBI
£2,000 has already been sent from the Federation's Emergency Relief Fund to the International Committee of the Red Cross and a further £2000 has been pledged at the Federation's conference in Manchester in October. Letters of sympathy have been received from the Presidents of SI, SI/A and SIE.
Members and Clubs can contribute through SIGBI’s Emergency Relief Fund using the Paypal link on the SIGBI website Home page. Please indicate your donation is for Pakistan floods.
There is the main disaster helpline http://www.dec.org.uk or contact the Red Cross (http://www.redcross.co.uk) for further information. UNICEF have asked Soroptimists to assist with their appeal. See details below.
There will be a clear need for longer term support and Clubs may wish to contribute on an ongoing basis to the above. We will be helping to meet Objective 7 “Meet the needs of women and girls during and after armed conflicts and disasters”.
“It has been a very bad time for all and the situation is still not under control. The weather is not helping and the flood waters are moving towards Sindh where Karachi is located. The north of Pakistan is already facing devastation and we are now bracing for a worsening of the situation in the south as well. Your support means a lot to us and the members of SI clubs of Pakistan.” (Talat Pasha, SI. Karachi Central, FPAC Pakistan)
From UNICEF
Following the devastating floods in Pakistan , over 14 million people need urgent help, of which 6 million are children. Around 290,000 homes have been seriously damaged or destroyed, leaving 2 million people homeless. In terms of the number of people affected, this ranks alongside the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami and this year’s Haiti earthquake. It is likely to take the country years to recover and reconstruct.
UNICEF is already on the ground with our partners, providing emergency healthcare and safe drinking water to affected families. The situation is extremely challenging. Access to many areas has been cut off by the rising waters and vital supplies have been washed away. The flood waters are travelling south and, with more rains forecast, we expect to see thousands more people affected.
The UN has launched an appeal for approx £300 million to respond to the immediate needs of people affected by the flooding in Pakistan . UNICEF is appealing for £300 million over the next three months to help meet the needs of children in Pakistan . Our priority is keeping vulnerable children alive as the threat of disease increases. We have people on the ground in the worst affected areas and can report that aid is getting through.
Together with our partners, UNICEF has already set up 24 medical camps in the affected areas, benefiting around one million people. These camps are providing medical support to affected families, including antenatal care and immunisation against measles and tetanus. We are also providing water kits and educating families with health and hygiene messages to help prevent outbreaks of disease.
We are calling on Soroptimists to help us raise desperately needed funds for this appeal. I would really appreciate you considering supporting UNICEF because the situation is desperate and so many of your clubs responded magnificently when the earthquake in Pakistan happened in 2005.
UNICEF receives no funding from the United Nations budget. We are funded entirely by voluntary contributions.
Your emergency fundraising will directly help vulnerable children at risk – A gift of £30 could provide three families with essential water kits.
Clubs can donate online by visiting www.unicef.org.uk/Pakistansoroptimists
If you require further information please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
On behalf of the children affected by the flooding, thank you in advance for your support.
Helen Shaw