A further £20 million to fund more helicopters, including three British military Chinooks, shelter, food and other urgent needs was today announced by the International Development Secretary, Mr Hilary Benn, bringing the total pledged by the UK Government to £33 million.
Mr Benn made the announcement during a visit to Pakistan today where he will be seeing for himself the relief efforts being made and discussing with the Government of Pakistan and United Nations what more the UK can do to help.
Hilary Benn said:
"The situation in Pakistan is very serious. More people are at risk of dying. The British Government is doing all it can, and today's announcement of more money will help increase our support. The real challenge for all of us is to turn money into immediate assistance in the form of helicopters, medicine, food and tents.
"An estimated two million people are homeless and they need tents and blankets to protect them from the cold as winter arrives. We have already sent all of our UK stores of winter tents, sleeping mats and tarpaulins to Pakistan, both by air and by road, and we are now part of the global search to find more and to get them to those in need.
"I will be discussing the urgent priorities of the relief effort with the Government of Pakistan. Britain will continue to provide further support both now and in the future to help both in relief and recovery."
- £9 million of the additional £20 million announced today will fund:
- £3 million for helicopters including three British military (RAF) heavy lift CH-47 Chinook helicopters, which are in addition to the four helicopters already being funded by DFID through the UN and Red Cross;
- £2 million extra for the Red Cross, to be divided equally between:
- the International Committee of the Red Cross to supply helicopters, winter clothing, tents and food; and
- the International Federation of the Red Cross for the provision of immediate relief supplies such as blankets, tents and water.
Plus:
- £1 million extra for medical support and services,
- £1 million extra for water and sanitation
- £1 million extra for shelter £1 million extra for transport, logistics and co-ordination services.
In addition, £1,660,000 has been provided by the UK as part of the EU's aid contribution through the European Commission Humanitarian Organisation (ECHO).
Of the £13 million already announced we have allocated £5 million for the UN Flash Appeal; £3 million is expected to pay for in-kind donations and airlifts for the Disasters Emergency Committee; £1.5 million is for the Red Cross; £300,000 is for Save the Children UK for the provision of tents, blankets, clothing, primary health care and services to help reunify families; £300,000 is for Christian Aid for tents, food packages, shelter kits, first aid and medical assistance; £300,000 is for Action Aid for the provision of relief, food packages, shelter, health centres, tents, medical supplies and support.
All remaining funds, around £12 million, will be allocated following needs assessments being carried out in Pakistan.
The Government, through DFID's emergency response team, has already:
- undertaken 13 relief flights that have carried a total of 900 tonnes of emergency supplies from the UK and Dubai which have included a total of 40,000 sleeping mats, 28,000 blankets, 30,000 tarpaulins and plastic sheets, 19,700 jerry cans and 5,500 winterised tents which are being distributed through UK aid agencies such as Oxfam and Islamic Relief, also 13 vehicles and a trailer, 2 forklift trucks and 50 global positioning system units provided by DFID have been flown out to Pakistan;
- organised and funded 4 Disasters Emergency Committee flights with another 16 planned over the next few days;
- paid for half of the World Health Organisation's appeal to provide enough health and trauma kits to support 40,000 people for 3 months; and
- provided logistical support to the United Nations including vehicles, airport handling equipment and an Humanitarian Information Centre with computers, printers, map-making equipment and global positioning systems that will help the UN to co-ordinate the humanitarian effort.
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