World Vision has decided to intensify its flood response activities to assist nearly six million Pakistanis who have been affected by severe flooding in Sindh, a press release said on Wednesday. The situation in Sindh has deteriorated drastically as 22 out of the 23 districts in the province have been badly affected by the recent floods and this intensified response would focus on health, nutrition and distribution of commodities to flood victims, in particular pregnant women, children and old people.
Referring to the UN estimates, it said the monsoon rains had so far affected over 5.4 million people (49 percent women) or some one million households, of which 56,000 (five percent of the households) were headed by females. “In Badin, Sindh’s worst-hit district, this year’s flooding is even worse than last year,” said World Vision National Director Alexander Davey. “In the last month alone, the number of flood-affected people has more than doubled. A quick, well-coordinated relief effort is urgently needed to reach children and their families who have lost everything,” he added.
He said the World Vision was also extending its help to the flood affected people of Punjab. It was estimated that about half of the 5.4 million people suffering as a result of floods were living in just two of Sindh’s 23 districts, Badin and Khairpur – where World Vision was working with communities to respond to their most pressing needs.
World Vision has been helping, through partners, in the southern areas of Sindh, but heavy rains over the last week have created devastation throughout the province including the northern areas where World Vision has been assisting since last year’s flooding. “As of today, nearly six million people are affected by floods. When World Vision began responding three weeks ago, the number of people affected was a third of what it is now. Nearly half a million people have been displaced into camps, half of them children, and the numbers are rising daily. Many more remain stranded in villages that are now islands or on the sides of roads without shelter,” said the press release.
