Over nine million people affected by severe flooding in Sindh are at risk of disease and widespread malnutrition, while relief efforts reaching over five million people are under threat due to a lack of funds, warned a group of international aid agencies including Oxfam, Save the Children, Care and ACTED on Wednesday. They appealed to donor community to step up its response. According a press release issued from Oxfam, the lack of funding for the Pakistani flood relief programmes would have serious consequences if money was not found soon to help those in need. Oxfam would be forced to cut back on its efforts after December, meaning the 3.9 million people it had planned to reach would go without help. Save the Children have raised only 35 percent so far of their global appeal for the Sindh floods.
Care faces a shortfall of 91 percent and is struggling to continue its relief programme at a time when the risk of an outbreak of disease and widespread malnutrition is escalating. “Care has used its own resources to fund this response, which is focusing on emergency healthcare and food security. Due to a funding shortfall, we’ve only reached roughly 10 percent of the targeted 150,000 in need of emergency healthcare in the areas where we and our local partners operate,” said Waleed Rauf, Country Director of Care International in Pakistan.
The programmes of UN agencies also are affected by the sluggish funding. The UN’s $357 million appeal has only received $96.5 million so far. “The 2011 floods flash appeal remains distressingly underfunded with a 73 per cent shortfall and if more funding is not received relief supplies will run out within weeks which impacts UN agencies from providing life-saving clean water, sanitation, food, shelter and healthcare” said Stacey Winston, UN Spokesperson. The government of Pakistan also faces a funding crisis and might be forced to scale down relief efforts due to depleting resources, which has led to an increased need for the humanitarian agencies to step up their response.
“Over two months into the crisis millions of people are still without basics. If relief operations stop, it could lead to an unimaginable catastrophe. Healthcare, clean water and sanitation are needed to stem a looming public health crisis. The precarious food system is under threat as there’s an acute food shortage, and many farmers will miss the winter cropping season. With winter approaching fast, millions of people who are still without shelter will be left out in the cold. We urgently need to see the same donor generosity and giving that took place last year during the floods,” said Neva Khan, Oxfam’s country director in Pakistan. Over nine million people have been affected by the floods that hit in August. More than two months into the disaster, over 1.58 million houses in Sindh and 26,000 in Balochistan have been damaged.
People are forced to live in desperate conditions. More than three-quarters of the affected households have not received any shelter assistance while around 800,000 people are still displaced. According to the latest estimates, three million people are in urgent need of emergency food assistance. “We had expected the situation to stabilise by now but conditions are going from bad to worse. Each day that passes puts more children at risk of contracting diseases. Malnutrition levels among children under-fives are among some of our worst recorded cases. Children’s immunity is very weak, and we fear winter will make the situation worse if aid is not immediately stepped up,” said Save the Children’s Pakistan Country Director, David Wright.
Over 67 percent of food stocks and 73 percent of the crops in thirteen districts of Sindh have been destroyed. Additionally farmers whose fields were under water would miss the winter planting season – which begins now – leading to hunger. “It is unfortunate that the millions of flood affected populations have received so little humanitarian aid to meet their urgent food, water and shelter needs. These populations have lost everything and they require immediate assistance to be able to survive the coming winter months, and to have a chance to rebuild their lives.” said Andy Buchanan, Country Director of ACTED.
