Age UK and our sister charity HelpAge International are helping 1,000 older people and their families affected by the recent flooding in Pakistan.
Since August, heavy monsoon rains have caused flash floods throughout Sindh and Punjab provinces, affecting 5 million people.
More than 230 people have been killed, 1.2 million houses have been destroyed or damaged and 4.5 million acres have been flooded since late last month.
A hidden tragedy is unfolding in many parts of East Africa as many thousands of older people are unable to travel to refugee camps for help, Age UK and HelpAge International are warning.
The region is in the grip of a drought and resulting severe food crisis that have forced many working age adults from the countryside to displaced camps to find food or to the cities in a desperate search for work.
Sri Lanka is experiencing its heaviest
rains in 30 years, with over one million people affected.
The death toll currently stands at 27
but continues to rise daily. The heavy rains are due to continue falling
for the foreseeable future.
Age UK has worked for a long time with
our sister organisations, HelpAge International and HelpAge Sri Lanka to
support older people in Sri Lanka; providing emergency relief following
the floods is a top priority right now.
HelpAge Sri Lanka is currently providing
drinking water to 1,500 older people, delivering health care to 2,500,
None of the United Nations projects aimed
at older people have been funded to date.
Despite being identified as the most
vulnerable group in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, one year on,
older people continue to be forgotten by international donors. This is
according to a report by Age UK's international partner organisation, HelpAge
International
Out of 321 projects included for funding
in the United Nations Flash Appeals for Haiti, 5% of projects refer to
older people's needs. Only 0.6% of these projects included activities that
Three months after floods began in Pakistan
the DEC is extremely concerned that 99 cases of cholera from across the
flood-affected areas of the country have now been publically confirmed
for the first time.
The World Health Organisation announced
this week (26.10.10) that it was informed by the Pakistan Ministry of Health
on 12 October that laboratory tests had shown there were people affected
by the disease in Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
Severe diarrhoea has for some time been
the most common health problem facing the more than 20 million people affected
The number of people who have died in the
monsoon floods has now risen to 1,600 and estimates of those affected stand
at almost 14 million.
Despite mass evacuations, there are fears
the death toll will rise as flooding reaches the southern province of Sindh
and the risk of water-borne disease outbreaks increases in many areas.
Age UK, in partnership with sister organisation
opens link in new window HelpAge, is currently responding to the emergency
alongside medical aid agency Merlin.
Asma Akbar, Programme Manager for HelpAge
in Pakistan:
Age UK, along with sister organisation
HelpAge International, is planning to respond to the worst floods in Pakistan
in 80 years in partnership with medical aid agency Merlin.
At least 1,100 people have died in the
monsoon floods and, according to Unicef, at least 3 million people have
been affected, of which 150,000 are likely to be older people.
Many people are having to shelter on
the roofs of their houses, and in trees. The flood waters have washed away
thousands of acres of crops, government buildings, schools, markets, bridges,
