In response to the United Nations Pakistan Floods Rapid Response Plan 2011, Britain will provide emergency shelter to more than 255,000 homeless flood victims in southern Pakistan, United Kingdom (UK) International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell announced on Thursday. The new support from the UK government included emergency shelter and blankets that would be shipped in directly from the Department of International Development (DFID) warehouse in the United Arab Emirates, and help in rebuilding flood resistant homes for 40,000 people where the water had receded, said a statement issued by the UK High Commission today. UK Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell on the occasion said, “I know the suffering caused by the flooding, it is a deep concern to many British people.”
He said, “I am announcing that the UK will provide vital shelter to more than 255,000 children and adults who have lost their homes. UK support for flood victims will continue not only over the coming weeks, but into 2012. Our countries are closely tied through family, business, history and culture, and we will always stand by and support each other.” The UK had already anticipated the further flooding in Pakistan this year and over the last few months pre-positioned 5,000 family tents, 10,000 tarpaulin sheets, 35,000 thermal blankets, and tens of thousands of hygiene kits, water bottles, and other emergency items in 12 locations across Pakistan via the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), all of which was now being distributed across Sindh.
In addition, the UK helped provide emergency shelter to 37,440 families, 2000 solar lamps, and 1,000 sleeping mats via the International Organisation of Migration (IOM), and is supporting the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Disease Early Warning system in Sindh until February 2012, to try and avoid major outbreaks of health epidemics. The UK also funded training for rural communities on how to prepare for and cope with flooding and UK funding ran 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 Humanitarian Emergency Response Review (HERR), published by Lord Ashdown earlier this year, claims The UK helped millions of people affected by last year’s monsoon floods across Pakistan and was committed to being better prepared for future disasters, it aimed to build up the resilience of local communities by helping people become self-sufficient again by constructing flood-resistant brick homes, replacing bridges and schools, and providing seeds, farm animals, jobs, and tools. Other international relief efforts are also underway; The World Food Programme (WFP) has provided food for more than 500,000 people in Sindh’s affected areas, and is reaching an average 50,000 new victims each day. Talking to the press on Thursday, WFP Spokesman Amjad Jamal said that WFP had scaled up to provide food for 2.55 million people over the coming four months.
He said an initial assessment in Sindh and Balochistan showed that around 5.8 million people had been affected. He said the WFP was providing logistical support and five boats for mobile medical services and rescue/evacuation purposes. “WFP is fully committed to augmenting governmental efforts to extend support to the flood victims,” he added. To a question, he said the WFP received US$ 24 million from the donours and needed further funding on an urgent basis to continue operation in the flood affected areas. Jamal, replying to another question, said the United Nations had warned that humanitarian agencies were running out of resources, and the need for even basic items, shelter and health services increased among the more than five million affected people.
