News
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Still a long way to go to provide relief to flood victims: UN* Envoy says danger of outbreak cannot be ruled out
* 1.9 million homes have been destroyed, 10 million people currently without shelter
ISLAMABAD: With assistance being provided to millions of people affected by the worst floods in country’s history the United Nations humanitarian wing on Tuesday said that there was still a long way to go for providing relief to people, particularly in health and shelter.
According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), an estimated 20 million people had so far been affected by the flooding, which began in July in the wake of heavy monsoon rains.
At least 1.9 million homes have been destroyed or damaged and 10 million people were currently without shelter, Bill Fellows, the representative of OCHA, told the media during a briefing.
While livelihoods damage is still being assessed, at least two million hectares of standing crops had been lost. According to government estimates, 1.2 million pieces of livestock and six million pieces of poultry had been lost and more might die without proper feed and veterinary support.
The Pakistan Initial Floods Emergency Response Plan envisages activities costing $459.7 million for the initial relief period, but requirements will be revised as necessary.
He however said that the good news was that the situation was moving rapidly on ground and the OCHA along with its 72 partners, most of them from Pakistan, was busy in relief activities.
Lauding the role of volunteers and different organisations from Pakistan, he said they were doing great a job.
To a question, he said Pakistan had an effective warning system about disease outbreaks and at present there was no epidemic in flood affected areas. “Danger of an outbreak cannot be ruled out and we are working closely with our partners to control the diseases,” he added.
He also lauded the role of lady health workers, saying they were doing extraordinary work under extreme difficult situation. He said breastfeeding to children was a problem for mothers due to privacy and asked the people to create space for the purpose.
To another query he said that around 3.18 million people were being provided clean drinking water in camps.
Speaking on the occasion, the World Food Programme representative said around three million were provided food last month in camps, while the target for the ongoing month was to reach six million people.
“During the ongoing month we have already provided food to one million more people. We are scaling up our efforts and are sure to meet the set target,” he added. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk