Islamabad, September 13, 2011 – The Pakistan Humanitarian Forum (PHF) welcomes the Government’s recent decision to launch a joint humanitarian response in Sindh, the province most affected by recent monsoon rains, where over five million people in 22 out of 23 districts are affected by flooding. In addition to the 270 people reportedly killed, over 500 have been injured. Supporting the Government’s decision for joint humanitarian response, the PHF member organisations immediately initiated a relief response with a joint assessment of the situation, which will provide a clearer overview of the full scale of damages and needs. PHF urges the Government of Pakistan to facilitate and allow access and expedite visas for international aid workers so that much needed help can be extended to the affected population.
“Unfortunately we have already lost valuable time in reaching out to millions of affected people and now we must act with a greater degree of urgency in order to avoid further people from dying due to sickness, lack of food, clean water, and shelter. Our biggest concern at the moment is getting immediate life saving assistance to affected populations, such as non food items, clean water, medicines and tents.
The stagnant water is leading to an increase in diseases such as malaria, dysentery, cholera, diarrhoea and dengue” said Jack Byrne, chairman of the PHF. He underlined that the situation needs to be tackled before it might develop into a full scale ‘health disaster’.
With more than 200,000 people being displaced and 4,2 million acres of land being flooded, a joint response by the international humanitarian community and the Government of Pakistan is essential in order to reach the affected population in time. Schools have also been turned into temporary shelter, disrupting schooling for thousands of children noted the chairman and reiterated the commitment of the international humanitarian community to assist the government in all areas affected by the recent disaster, including education for children.
With the request from the Government of Pakistan for international assistance, the United Nations will launch a ‘Rapid response Plan’, by Saturday September 17, to which donors can contribute much needed funding for recovery efforts. The PHF represents 41 international aid organisations at work in Pakistan that share a common goal: to improve the lives of the most vulnerable. Many of the PHF members are already working in the affected areas and will therefore be quick in responding with immediate relief assistance.
Notes to Editors:
For more information please contact the PHF on info@pakhumanitarianforum.org or +92 (51) 2611655
About the PHF:
INGOs working for disaster response in Pakistan formed an informal network by the name of Northern Areas Earthquake Relief Operation (NAERO), following the 2002 earthquake in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. The objective of the network was to coordinate response and rehabilitation activities of INGOs in the affected area. The Pakistan-Humanitarian Forum was formed to coordinate and strengthen the efforts of International NGOs working in disaster management. The forum collectively represents INGOs to the Government of Pakistan, United Nations, and the larger humanitarian community, including the National Humanitarian Network of Pakistani NGOs and Community-Based Organizations. Since its formation various INGOs have acted as Chair of the PHF, the main responsibilities being to coordinate communication among members, participate at meetings, and lead PHF advocacy initiatives. The PHF is currently chaired by CRS. The current and immediate past chair of PHF sit on the Humanitarian Country Team, the Policy and Strategy Meetings in Peshawar, the Emergency Relief Fund Advisory and Review Boards, and the Pakistan Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Country Team, a coordination mechanism constituted by UN agencies, the Red Cross Movement, and international NGOs. There are 41 member organisations of the PHF. 11 Organisations participate at PHF meetings as observers.