Racing against the clock to assist disaster In Pakistan
Faced with the worst flooding for nearly eighty years, the Pakistani authorities are still struggling to help victims after heavy monsoon rains that occurred over the last two weeks in the upper Indus basin. An area of approximately 1000 kilometers long from north to south has been devastated by bad weather, killing more than 1600 people. According to Islamabad, about 14 million people are affected by the floods. The UN is preparing to launch an international appeal for funds to assist disaster victims, believes that figure is closer to 6 million. These people "in need of immediate humanitarian assistance, that is to say they need to survive," said Elisabeth Byrs, spokesperson for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA ).
Ms. Byrs compared the magnitude of the earthquake disaster which hit Haiti early this year, noting that nearly three hundred thousand homes were destroyed by the impact of the monsoon. The United Nations will require several hundred million dollars to the international community. The special envoy of UN Secretary General in charge of assistance to Pakistan, Jean-Maurice Ripert, said the cost of the disaster and reconstruction work would amount to billions of dollars.
REVIEWS, Zardari BACK TO COUNTRY
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who was abroad for official visits since the beginning of August, returned to Pakistan on Tuesday. Strongly criticized for his absence while the worsening humanitarian crisis there, Mr. Zardari had decided to maintain his travels. He visited France, Great Britain and then to Syria, where he met with President Bashar al-Assad. Mr Zardari has entrusted the management of the crisis in government leader, Yusuf Raza Gilani. In fact, the army has taken the lead in relief operations, which brought him to regain public confidence somewhat lost since the fall of General Pervez Musharraf. A government official said that Zardari would visit the affected areas in the coming days.
The weather cleared in some affected areas, allowing helicopters, including Americans, to resume their assistance missions for the benefit of the affected population. Several French NGOs such as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), CRS or Acted (Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development) are locally based and are concerned about a possible further rise in the water.
"The risk of diseases related to polluted water aggravate the situation with already one hundred thousand cases of cholera reported, affecting mostly children, alarmed by the Catholic Relief Services. "The situation in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh is very worrying," said MSF, while in the northern Swat Valley, which operates Acted, "massive food distribution for nearly sixty thousand people" are course.
Ms. Byrs compared the magnitude of the earthquake disaster which hit Haiti early this year, noting that nearly three hundred thousand homes were destroyed by the impact of the monsoon. The United Nations will require several hundred million dollars to the international community. The special envoy of UN Secretary General in charge of assistance to Pakistan, Jean-Maurice Ripert, said the cost of the disaster and reconstruction work would amount to billions of dollars.
REVIEWS, Zardari BACK TO COUNTRY
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who was abroad for official visits since the beginning of August, returned to Pakistan on Tuesday. Strongly criticized for his absence while the worsening humanitarian crisis there, Mr. Zardari had decided to maintain his travels. He visited France, Great Britain and then to Syria, where he met with President Bashar al-Assad. Mr Zardari has entrusted the management of the crisis in government leader, Yusuf Raza Gilani. In fact, the army has taken the lead in relief operations, which brought him to regain public confidence somewhat lost since the fall of General Pervez Musharraf. A government official said that Zardari would visit the affected areas in the coming days.
The weather cleared in some affected areas, allowing helicopters, including Americans, to resume their assistance missions for the benefit of the affected population. Several French NGOs such as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), CRS or Acted (Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development) are locally based and are concerned about a possible further rise in the water.
"The risk of diseases related to polluted water aggravate the situation with already one hundred thousand cases of cholera reported, affecting mostly children, alarmed by the Catholic Relief Services. "The situation in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh is very worrying," said MSF, while in the northern Swat Valley, which operates Acted, "massive food distribution for nearly sixty thousand people" are course.
Posted by Learning Foreign Exchange
on 10:16 AM.
Filed under