By Sabine Dolan
NEW YORK, USA, 31 October 2005 - UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman is visiting Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province and Pakistan-administered Kashmir to assess first-hand the scale of the devastation brought by the 8 October earthquake. Ms. Veneman is the first head of a United Nations humanitarian agency to visit the area.
"Today I witnessed the extraordinary scale of the devastation and the breadth of human suffering during this short visit to the heart of the earthquake zone," she said. "The impact this has had on the children of this vast and ruggedly beautiful land is of particular concern."
More funding urgently needed
Ms. Veneman's trip served to highlight the plight of children in the quake-affected areas in the north of the country. "The children and their families cannot wait much longer," she said during a press conference at the UN compound in Muzaffarabad, a city hit hard by the quake. "We must do everything we can to ensure their survival. They need shelter and care as quickly as possible." The message has been repeated again and again, with the UN warning of a second wave of deaths unless greater donor assistance arrives now.
Three weeks after the earthquake struck, the serious risks still faced by thousands of children across the remote region remains a top concern.
As part of its efforts, UNICEF, along with groups like International Medical Corps (IMC), Oxfam, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP), is working to provide clean water, sanitation, food, shelter and adequate health care for the growing numbers of people struggling down from the mountains needing assistance.
Emergency Education a top priority
Rebuilding the educational system is a priority: "We are just seeing this week children go back to school for the first time. It was very moving to go to a place (girl's government high school at Narole, Muzzafarabad) where 84 girls died in their school, six teachers including the head teacher and they had just begun school again this week. I think that all of these efforts are going to be critical as the communities in this area move forward." Ms. Veneman added : "Emergency education has to be geared up so that children get the chance they deserve and hope of a better life and more opportunities are not ended." UNICEF is sending a total of 1,740 school-in-a-box kits to nearly 140,000 children affected by the earthquake. Some 100,000 exercise books are also on the way to Pakistan.
Cold weather threatens more lives
Ms. Veneman is hoping to bring renewed attention to the countless young victims of the quake. Her visit comes at a pressing time: soon the harsh Himalayan winter will set in putting at risk thousands of children. It is therefore critical for the relief efforts to be carried out as quickly as possible. The first snows, expected to blanket the earthquake-affected region, will render some supply routes impassable.
The UNICEF chief has promised that the agency will scale up assistance.