A ship laden with emergency aid provided by the UK government has arrived at the city’s port to help thousands of children, women, and men, who have lost their homes in this year’s monsoon floods in Sindh.
According to a press release issued on Friday, the new aid includes emergency shelter for 105,000 people, 24,000 buckets, and 57,000 blankets. The items are being loaded on to trucks and will be transported immediately to flood-affected districts.
“The UK’s support for people affected by the floods here in Pakistan will continue over the coming weeks, months, and into 2012,” said George Turkington, head of the UK’s Department for International Development in Pakistan.
“In total, the UK is providing emergency shelter to more than half-a-million children, women, and men who have lost their homes in this year’s devastating floods, as well as providing blankets, stoves, and tens of thousands of other essential items to help people as the colder nights approach.”
Francis Campbell, the British deputy high commissioner in Karachi, said that the suffering caused by the flooding in Sindh is of deep concern to many British people.
“We provided a huge amount of help to people affected by last year’s devastating floods, and the UK’s continuing support this year reflects the deep friendship and longstanding bond between the two countries. Our countries are closely tied through family, business, history and culture, and we will always stand by and support each other,” he said.
The items have been shipped in directly from the UK Department for International Development’s warehouse in the UAE. It is part of a package of new support announced by the UK International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell on October 6, 2011.
In addition, the UK anticipated further flooding in Pakistan this year and pre-positioned emergency shelter, blankets, and other essential items for hundreds of thousands of people across Sindh that have all now been distributed to people, who urgently need them.
The UK also funded training for rural communities on how to prepare for and cope with flooding, as well as supporting cash for work projects to repair flood protection barriers, irrigation channels and other community infrastructure. This helps reduce vulnerability to future disasters and at the same time provides opportunities for people to earn money through creating employment.
The UK is committed to being better prepared to deal with future disasters, and build up the resilience of local communities. This is in line with the Humanitarian Emergency Response Review, published by Lord Ashdown earlier this year.