[This report does not necessarily reflect
the views of the United Nations]
Islamabad, 17 January (IRIN) -
The UN Special Envoy for the South Asia Earthquake, former President of
the United States George Bush Senior, on Tuesday concluded his brief visit
to Pakistan as part of his efforts to spotlight the plight of earthquake
victims.
"I've just been briefed by the UN team [in Pakistan] and I must tell you that I am very impressed with what the different agencies are doing, pulling together to try to save lives.... Prime needs are for the relief efforts to get them through a horrible predicted winter and then help them with reconstruction," Bush said in the capital, Islamabad, after meeting with senior UN senior officials working in the country.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed George Bush senior as Special Envoy for the South Asian Earthquake Disaster in December to spearhead the world body's efforts to sustain international support for humanitarian assistance to quake victims, as well as medium- and long-term rehabilitation, reconstruction and risk reduction.
The UN Special Envoy arrived in Pakistan on Monday for a two-day visit. He was scheduled to fly today to quake-hit areas of Pakistani-administered Kashmir to overview relief activities and visit tented camps. However, bad weather conditions continuing for the last three consecutive days prevented the UN envoy from undertaking the planned trip.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, the former US president visited a tented village of quake survivors located in the outskirts of Islamabad. The H-11 camp houses over 10,000 people displaced from quake-hit parts of Pakistani-administered Kashmir after a powerful earthquake of 7.6 magnitude ripped through the region in early October killing over 80,000 people and rendering over 3.5 million homeless.
The UN special envoy met many families in the relief camp and inquired about their welfare and needs.
For the past three months, quake survivors living in the H-11 makeshift camp have been provided with food, shelter, health, and water and sanitation facilities. About 2,000 children are currently enrolled from grades 1 to 10 in a tented school located in the same housing facility.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) supports the school in the form of salaries for 30 teachers, as well as educational materials. The United Nations' Children's Fund (UNICEF) has been providing classroom kits named school-in-a-box, which carry essential learning material like chalk, stationary, educational posters and books.
Meanwhile, aerial relief operations remained suspended for a third consecutive day on Tuesday due to bad weather conditions. It is the second time this year that aid flights have been suspended.
Heavy rains and snowfall across the quake-hit region during the first week of January severely hampered the relief operation, when helicopters were grounded for three days, delaying the shipment of some 900 mt of supplies to about 186 sites across the quake-affected area. The crucial supply roads to these areas have already been closed by landslides and avalanches.
"The flights, passenger as well as cargo, have been stopped since Sunday morning due to low visibility and foggy weather," said Caroline Chaumont, a spokeswoman for the UN's World Food Programme (WFP). However, "we are constantly monitoring the situation and the flights will resume as the weather improves," she added.
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