KARACHI – Even as Pakistanis displaced by devastating floods stream back to their homes, many of which were destroyed by the deluge, the humanitarian needs remain enormous amid dwindling resources, a UN report said.
In Sindh, people continue to return to villages as floodwaters recede and access improves but some areas are still under water, while 325 camps out of the 4,800 set up for internally displaced persons are still accommodating roughly 130,000 people, the report said.
However, newly established camps or secondary displacement sites have sprung up in the areas of return, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In Balochistan, receding waters have enabled people to move out of camps in several districts but more than 4,300 families are still at the camps.
“Under-funding remains a challenge,” said the UN OCHA, warning that with the food cluster facing a $237 million shortfall, food aid could run out next month, unless further contributions were received. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, an estimated 170,000 families displaced by conflict in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas have been unable to return due to insecurity.
The emergency shelter materials have been distributed to 47 percent of the affected people estimated but agencies would be unable to provide early recovery shelter to at least 800,000 homeless households. With temperatures falling across the country, thousands of flood-affected households remain in the need of ‘winterised’ shelter and medical aid.
The OCHA informed that more than half a million vulnerable farming families affected by floods in the Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have received seeds and fertilisers.
