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Germany to provide additional 1.4m euros for flood-hit areas
* Signs agreement with White Ribbon Campaign to end violence against womenISLAMABAD: For emergency relief measures in flood-affected areas in Pakistan, Germany will provide around 1.4 million Euros in addition to the ongoing long-term humanitarian aid projects.
Due to heavy rains in the previous months, floods have hit around 1,200 villages of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir territories and Punjab Province.
Through the German organisations Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e.V., Kindernothilfe e.V., humedica e.V., and HelpAge Deutschland e.V., four different emergency response projects will be implemented in the coming months.
The focus of these immediate aid programmes will be provision of non-food items such as sanitary products, equipment and material for reconstruction of housings.
Meanwhile, German Ambassador Dr Cyril Nunn and the CEO of “White Ribbon Campaign Pakistan” Omer Aftab, signed a contract for a project to address the issue of violence against women, a press release issued by the German Embassy said.
The project makes a contribution to end violence against women by launching a nationwide campaign through traditional and social media, training programmes and outreach to parliamentarians and other stakeholders. The overall aim is to empower women by providing them with necessary knowledge and skills to exercise their legal rights as only then will existing laws make a real difference for all citizens. At the same time the project works towards behavioural and social change.
The project is financed by Germany and implemented by White Ribbon Campaign throughout Pakistan, with a special focus on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. At the signing ceremony in the German Embassy, Ambassador Nunn said: “Empowering women is one of the most crucial factors for progress as they represent 50% of the potential expertise of a country. It can make a huge contribution to the economy and benefit all citizens. Preventing violence against women and providing them with the means to uphold their legal rights is a first step towards these goals. We are pleased to support White Ribbon Campaign’s work for a violence-free and prosperous society.”
White Ribbon CEO Omer Aftab said: “I am thankful to the German Embassy for supporting the campaign. The project addresses the issue of violence against women through legal literacy. The government has passed many pro-women laws in the last few years but the issue is that public at large is not aware about these laws and also the ways through which they can get remedy. Through campaigning, advocacy and massive media outreach, our goal is to make women aware of provincial and national laws, so that they can exercise their legal rights with complete knowledge and also access referral services.”
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk