Up to 20 million people have been affected by the worst floods in Pakistan in 80 years, prompting calls for the a greater international effort to address the disaster.
The United Nations said this week that while the response to their request made earlier this month for more funds to address the disaster has been encouraging, they still only had less than half the $US460 million needed.
FOOD RELIEF: Women receiving emergency food supplies in Pakistan. IMAGE: Courtesy of OM
“This has been a heart-wrenching day – I will never forget the destruction and suffering I have witnessed.”
– UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon
“Watching this disaster unfold, the world increasingly understands its immense magnitude,” said John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
More than 1,600 people have died as a result of the floods and, according to UN estimates, eight million people require urgent relief while more than four million are homeless. Pakistani Government estimates suggest as many as 20 million people – one in nine of the entire population – are affected.
Experts have said the outlook remains bleak with more rains expected. While floodwaters are receding in the country’s north, they are now reaching the south where more people are based.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon flew over stricken areas on Sunday, saying afterwards the response required would be unprecedented.
“This has been a heart-wrenching day – I will never forget the destruction and suffering I have witnessed,” he said. “In the past I have witnessed many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this.”
Writing in the New York Times after his visit, however, Mr Ban says he was heartened by the response from the international community.
“In the media, we hear some talk of ‘fatigue’ – suggestions that governments are reluctant to cope with yet another disaster, that they hesitate to contribute more to this part of the world,” the Secretary-General wrote.
“In fact, the evidence is otherwise. Donors are giving to Pakistan, and that is encouraging…We simply cannot stand by and let this natural disaster turn into a man-made catastrophe. Let us stand with the people of Pakistan every step of the long and difficult road ahead.”
Christian mission, aid and developmemnt agency OM is among the many non-profit organisations responding to the disaster. It’s Pakistan office has been distributing food packs and is setting up mobile medical clinics. It’s calling for people to pray for the country’s recovery and rebuilding.
“It is very difficult to explain in words the painful stories of the people,” said one OM leader in Pakistan.
OM is calling for donations to buy food packs ($40), new toilets for the reconstruction ($155) and medicine ($900 buys a day of prescribed medicine for 300 people).
The Indus River is reported as being 40 times its normal level. A spokesperson for UNICEF, Karen Allen, adds that whole cities of up to 250,000 people have been evacuated. “(P)eople have lost everything.”
Aid agencies have previously warned of the danger of waterborne disease and the first cases of cholera have been confirmed.
The US has announced it will be increasing its aid to $US150 million. Other major donors reportedly include Saudi Arabia ($US105 million), and the European Union ($US135 million).
