Relief efforts in Pakistan continue to be hampered by torrential rain, rising flood waters and ruined infrastructure as thousands remain out of reach despite aid workers attempting to reach victims by helicopter, boat, on foot or with donkeys.
A third of the country, a land mass the size of England, is now underwater as the flood wave passes through the southern province of Sindh. Water levels continue to rise ever further, threatening the Guddu and Sukkur barrages. Mass evacuations are seeing families pour out of villages and into relief camps as people anticipate the worst.
Muhammad Hayat Sial, who works for ActionAid, is part of the relief team in Kot Addu in Punjab providing aid to survivors in coordination with the district government:
"We were the first ones to reach those hit by the disaster in Koh Addu with rescue and relief support. So far, five relief camps have been set up in government buildings and 3,000 people are being provided with food, medical care and washing facilities. We are looking after the specific needs of women and girls and providing female doctors. In this camp there are 35 expectant mothers, three of which have just given birth," he said.
ActionAid is helping 23,000 people throughout the country, and plans to scale up coverage in the days to come as urgent needs for food, clean water, medical care, shelter and household goods continue to multiply.
The flooding has so far claimed the lives of at least 1,600 people and affected up to 14 million, more than those affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami (five million), the 2005 Kashmir earthquake (three million) and the 2010 Haiti earthquake (three million) combined.
ActionAid Pakistan works in many of the flood-affected areas. We will provide immediate support in terms of food, non-food items, water, sanitation, hygiene and construction of shelters in Upper Swat (union councils Matta, Kalam, Madian and Bahran). Our emergency response will also be targeted at flood affected communities of the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) province who have suffered damage to life, property and livelihood due to the heavy flash floods. We will attempt to support as many families as possible with special emphasis on women, children, people with disabilities and elderly people. Special attention will also be given to people living with HIV and AIDS and religious minorities in the area.
Floods caused by a week of heavy rain have killed more than 1,600 people in Pakistan's northwest, and rescuers are battling to distribute relief to tens of thousands of trapped people.
Please give generously now.
A westerly weather system moving in from Iran and Afghanistan, combined with heavy monsoon rain, caused dramatic floods in Pakistan in the past week, with the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) the worst hit. The Pakistani authorities believe these to be the worst floods to have hit the country in the past 80 years.
The provinces of Balochistan and Punjab are also hard-hit. Authorities estimate that four million people have been affected, with infrastructure receiving major damage. Rushing water also has washed away crops, government buildings, businesses, schools, bridges, and homes. As the floods head south, more destruction is feared. In southern Punjab at least 1.1 million acres of crops have been destroyed, and the Government of Pakistan has established 170 relief camps for 22,000 people. In Sindh Province, to the south of Punjab, rescue workers are preparing for the arrival of the flood waters, and more than 350,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas.
The severity of the flooding has caused enormous damage to the country’s infrastructure in both rural and urban areas. Entire settlements of mud-brick houses are reported to have been swept away, major bridges have collapsed, and some major provincial cities have been totally cut off after road and rail links were severed. The widespread disruption to the country’s communications network has meant that reaching the worst-hit areas of the country is extremely difficult.
The Government of Pakistan has requested the support of the international community to meet the needs of those affected. The Pakistani meteorological office is also forecasting heavier rain than usual during this year’s monsoon season and the country’s major rivers, including the Indus, Jhelum and Kabul, are expected to reach dangerously high levels.
ActionAid’s Response
ActionAid Pakistan works in many of the flood-affected areas, and is already providing food, personal hygiene kits and household essentials in 7 districts, with support for 4 more on the way. ActionAid will provide immediate support in terms of food, non-food items, water, sanitation, hygiene and construction of shelters in Upper Swat (union councils Matta, Kalam, Madian and Bahran). Our emergency response will also be targeted at flood affected communities of the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) province of Pakistan who have suffered damage to life, property and livelihood due to the heavy flash floods. We will attempt to support as many families as possible with special emphasis on reaching out to women, children, people with disabilities and elderly people. Special attention will also be given to people living with HIV and AIDS and religious minorities in the area.
Efforts will be made to cater to the needs of people who have suffered the most damages as a result of the flood. We will be implementing the project through partners and will be providing technical assistance to local partners throughout the project. ActionAid will closely monitor the project to ensure that standard emergency protocols are followed.
Just as importantly, ActionAid is already developing a framework for longer-term response, including strategies for disaster risk reduction and livelihood support. Please stand with ActionAid as we reach out to the people of Pakistan.
As millions of Pakistanis flee the Swat Valley, a hotspot of combat between the Taliban and Pakistani military, they’re discovering that they’ve rushed into another crisis: uncomfortable, sometimes unsanitary camps overwhelmed by the influx of evacuees.
Despite the hardships, they know going back to their once-beautiful land is not an option right now.
“I miss my home where Taliban are living now,” said Zartaja Bibi, a woman trembling in a camp in Takht Bhai. But the Taliban warned her that she could either leave or have her throat cut.
ActionAid, long familiar with problems in the country, was on the ground early and saw an urgent need for food, water, shelter, sanitation and health care. And, as workers visit camps, they see the need for aid growing.
Since May 2, escalated fighting in Swat and other embattled areas has forced an estimated 2.4 million people to relocate. Although most of those leaving the Swat Valley are now living with friends or family, in the dwindling number of apartments available for rent or in makeshift settlements of their own, those forced into the camps face stifling heat and scarce supplies. Massive international aid is needed to prevent a disaster in the camps, according to the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.
Nearly three-quarters of those leaving the Swat Valley and surrounding districts are children who face particularly dangerous hardships, in terms of both the journey, and when they arrive and settle in camps or private homes.
“Families have been separated as some members took to the road while their relatives remained at home, either unwillingly trapped due to fighting and curfew, or intentionally staying back to look after houses and livestock,” said Javeria Ayaz Malik, communications coordinator for ActionAid Pakistan.
The journey is long and hard. Transport is scarce and children are walking more than 100 kilometers. Many become separated from their families or lost.
Takht Bhai, the first area on the way out of Swat, houses hundreds of thousands people who’ve fled the war-torn valley or the similarly embattled district of Buner.
With ice a rare luxury and temperatures surpassing 100 degrees, one man there said he couldn’t bear to drink hot water; he fainted from dehydration. People say the food is tasteless, with nothing but cooked lentil gravy for flavoring.
Meanwhile, women and small children cram themselves into tents with hand fans, stepping outside only to use the toilet. Purdah — the Muslim veil tradition of secluding women from men — prevents women from leaving the privacy of the tents, and a lack of hygiene products feeds sanitation problems.
Diseases such as acute respiratory infections, acute diarrhea and lower respiratory infection have struck many and are spreading, according to the World Health Organization. In Takht Bhai, ActionAid met a 2-year-old boy covered in mosquito bites and a malaria patient whose family said they were plagued by mosquitoes but had no repellents or nets.
If conditions in the camps worsen, many fear that their angry and desperate residents will turn to the Taliban, the only organization to provide them with basic materials and a sense of respect.
So far, most people appear to support the government and its response, but the danger that displaced Pakistanis will turn to militant extremism grows as they are separated from their homes by a conflict with no clear end in sight.
“The fighting could continue for a longer period, so they will not be going home soon,” said Fikre Zewdie, director of ActionAid Pakistan. “Pakistan cannot handle a crisis on this scale without international help.”
ActionAid is on the ground helping to meet Pakistanis’ immediate needs. As of June, we are assisting 4,000 families in Swabi, Mardan and Hasan Abdul, in part by providing food and non-food items, as well as health and hygiene facilities
We are also collaborating with Shifa College of Medicines and Nursing to extended medical care and treatment and medicines to hundreds of people.
Abdul Jabbar, 41, is displaced from Koza Banday in Swat and is living with a relative in Kotha area of Swabi. Abdul came to ActionAid’s medical camp with his three children who were suffering from a viral chest infection.
“When you have no shelter, no money, no proper food and no medicine for your ailing kids, you are no where,” said Abdul. “I am jobless and homeless. I was depressed, as I could not get medicine for my three coughing kids. But with this medical camp in my area, a doctor examined my kids and they got medicine. I hope they will soon be better.”
Please support ActionAid and its critical work in Pakistan to provide supplies to those displaced by the ongoing fighting.
ActionAid is providing immediate relief in the form of food, water, medical supplies and sanitation facilities. We are assessing medium on long-term needs, such as helping families secure copies of their registration documents which many families left behind when they fled but which are strictly required by the government. We are also trying to meet the needs for clothing and shelter. For the many women and children displaced there are concerns of increased sexual violence and exploitation. The capacity of cities to absorb these people has been increasingly exhausted, leading to ever greater competition for scarce resources and livelihood opportunities. ActionAid will continue to provide relief while working for long-term solutions.
Mon Sep 27 18:14:40 +0000 2010 by LTel:added avails, corrected
region: Middle East -> South Asia
areas_served: Swabi, Mardan and Hasan Abdul -> Swabi, Mardan and Hasan Abdul, KPK, Punjab, Azad Jammu and Kashmir
(show/hide changes)Sun Aug 15 14:53:26 +0000 2010 by LTel:notes: RELIEF WEB SITUATION REPORT UPDATES - PAKISTAN FLOODS 2010:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwc.nsf/db201ShortName/ActionAid?OpenDocument
-----------------------------------------
From RELIEF WEB:
Pakistan Update: desperate need as the rain hammers down
Source: ActionAid
Date: 13 Aug 2010
Relief efforts in Pakistan continue to be hampered by torrential rain, rising flood waters and ruined infrastructure as thousands remain out of reach despite aid workers attempting to reach victims by helicopter, boat, on foot or with donkeys.
A third of the country, a land mass the size of England, is now underwater as the flood wave passes through the southern province of Sindh. Water levels continue to rise ever further, threatening the Guddu and Sukkur barrages. Mass evacuations are seeing families pour out of villages and into relief camps as people anticipate the worst.
Muhammad Hayat Sial, who works for ActionAid, is part of the relief team in Kot Addu in Punjab providing aid to survivors in coordination with the district government:
"We were the first ones to reach those hit by the disaster in Koh Addu with rescue and relief support. So far, five relief camps have been set up in government buildings and 3,000 people are being provided with food, medical care and washing facilities. We are looking after the specific needs of women and girls and providing female doctors. In this camp there are 35 expectant mothers, three of which have just given birth," he said.
ActionAid is helping 23,000 people throughout the country, and plans to scale up coverage in the days to come as urgent needs for food, clean water, medical care, shelter and household goods continue to multiply.
The flooding has so far claimed the lives of at least 1,600 people and affected up to 14 million, more than those affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami (five million), the 2005 Kashmir earthquake (three million) and the 2010 Haiti earthquake (three million) combined.
-----------------------------------------
From the InterAction site - Pakistan Floods 7/10:
ActionAid Pakistan works in many of the flood-affected areas. We will provide immediate support in terms of food, non-food items, water, sanitation, hygiene and construction of shelters in Upper Swat (union councils Matta, Kalam, Madian and Bahran). Our emergency response will also be targeted at flood affected communities of the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) province who have suffered damage to life, property and livelihood due to the heavy flash floods. We will attempt to support as many families as possible with special emphasis on women, children, people with disabilities and elderly people. Special attention will also be given to people living with HIV and AIDS and religious minorities in the area.
------------------------------------------
From the site - Pakistan Floods July 2010:
ActionAid appeals for support as floods ravage Pakistan
Floods caused by a week of heavy rain have killed more than 1,600 people in Pakistan's northwest, and rescuers are battling to distribute relief to tens of thousands of trapped people.
Please give generously now.
A westerly weather system moving in from Iran and Afghanistan, combined with heavy monsoon rain, caused dramatic floods in Pakistan in the past week, with the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) the worst hit. The Pakistani authorities believe these to be the worst floods to have hit the country in the past 80 years.
The provinces of Balochistan and Punjab are also hard-hit. Authorities estimate that four million people have been affected, with infrastructure receiving major damage. Rushing water also has washed away crops, government buildings, businesses, schools, bridges, and homes. As the floods head south, more destruction is feared. In southern Punjab at least 1.1 million acres of crops have been destroyed, and the Government of Pakistan has established 170 relief camps for 22,000 people. In Sindh Province, to the south of Punjab, rescue workers are preparing for the arrival of the flood waters, and more than 350,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas.
The severity of the flooding has caused enormous damage to the country’s infrastructure in both rural and urban areas. Entire settlements of mud-brick houses are reported to have been swept away, major bridges have collapsed, and some major provincial cities have been totally cut off after road and rail links were severed. The widespread disruption to the country’s communications network has meant that reaching the worst-hit areas of the country is extremely difficult.
The Government of Pakistan has requested the support of the international community to meet the needs of those affected. The Pakistani meteorological office is also forecasting heavier rain than usual during this year’s monsoon season and the country’s major rivers, including the Indus, Jhelum and Kabul, are expected to reach dangerously high levels.
ActionAid’s Response
ActionAid Pakistan works in many of the flood-affected areas, and is already providing food, personal hygiene kits and household essentials in 7 districts, with support for 4 more on the way. ActionAid will provide immediate support in terms of food, non-food items, water, sanitation, hygiene and construction of shelters in Upper Swat (union councils Matta, Kalam, Madian and Bahran). Our emergency response will also be targeted at flood affected communities of the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) province of Pakistan who have suffered damage to life, property and livelihood due to the heavy flash floods. We will attempt to support as many families as possible with special emphasis on reaching out to women, children, people with disabilities and elderly people. Special attention will also be given to people living with HIV and AIDS and religious minorities in the area.
Efforts will be made to cater to the needs of people who have suffered the most damages as a result of the flood. We will be implementing the project through partners and will be providing technical assistance to local partners throughout the project. ActionAid will closely monitor the project to ensure that standard emergency protocols are followed.
Just as importantly, ActionAid is already developing a framework for longer-term response, including strategies for disaster risk reduction and livelihood support. Please stand with ActionAid as we reach out to the people of Pakistan.
------------------------------------------
FROM THE SITE - Pakistan Armed Conflict(Not dated but viewed 8/2/10):
Work Continues to Meet Displaced Pakistanis' Immediate Needs
As millions of Pakistanis flee the Swat Valley, a hotspot of combat between the Taliban and Pakistani military, they’re discovering that they’ve rushed into another crisis: uncomfortable, sometimes unsanitary camps overwhelmed by the influx of evacuees.
Despite the hardships, they know going back to their once-beautiful land is not an option right now.
“I miss my home where Taliban are living now,” said Zartaja Bibi, a woman trembling in a camp in Takht Bhai. But the Taliban warned her that she could either leave or have her throat cut.
ActionAid, long familiar with problems in the country, was on the ground early and saw an urgent need for food, water, shelter, sanitation and health care. And, as workers visit camps, they see the need for aid growing.
Since May 2, escalated fighting in Swat and other embattled areas has forced an estimated 2.4 million people to relocate. Although most of those leaving the Swat Valley are now living with friends or family, in the dwindling number of apartments available for rent or in makeshift settlements of their own, those forced into the camps face stifling heat and scarce supplies. Massive international aid is needed to prevent a disaster in the camps, according to the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.
Nearly three-quarters of those leaving the Swat Valley and surrounding districts are children who face particularly dangerous hardships, in terms of both the journey, and when they arrive and settle in camps or private homes.
“Families have been separated as some members took to the road while their relatives remained at home, either unwillingly trapped due to fighting and curfew, or intentionally staying back to look after houses and livestock,” said Javeria Ayaz Malik, communications coordinator for ActionAid Pakistan.
The journey is long and hard. Transport is scarce and children are walking more than 100 kilometers. Many become separated from their families or lost.
Takht Bhai, the first area on the way out of Swat, houses hundreds of thousands people who’ve fled the war-torn valley or the similarly embattled district of Buner.
With ice a rare luxury and temperatures surpassing 100 degrees, one man there said he couldn’t bear to drink hot water; he fainted from dehydration. People say the food is tasteless, with nothing but cooked lentil gravy for flavoring.
Meanwhile, women and small children cram themselves into tents with hand fans, stepping outside only to use the toilet. Purdah — the Muslim veil tradition of secluding women from men — prevents women from leaving the privacy of the tents, and a lack of hygiene products feeds sanitation problems.
Diseases such as acute respiratory infections, acute diarrhea and lower respiratory infection have struck many and are spreading, according to the World Health Organization. In Takht Bhai, ActionAid met a 2-year-old boy covered in mosquito bites and a malaria patient whose family said they were plagued by mosquitoes but had no repellents or nets.
If conditions in the camps worsen, many fear that their angry and desperate residents will turn to the Taliban, the only organization to provide them with basic materials and a sense of respect.
So far, most people appear to support the government and its response, but the danger that displaced Pakistanis will turn to militant extremism grows as they are separated from their homes by a conflict with no clear end in sight.
“The fighting could continue for a longer period, so they will not be going home soon,” said Fikre Zewdie, director of ActionAid Pakistan. “Pakistan cannot handle a crisis on this scale without international help.”
ActionAid is on the ground helping to meet Pakistanis’ immediate needs. As of June, we are assisting 4,000 families in Swabi, Mardan and Hasan Abdul, in part by providing food and non-food items, as well as health and hygiene facilities
We are also collaborating with Shifa College of Medicines and Nursing to extended medical care and treatment and medicines to hundreds of people.
Abdul Jabbar, 41, is displaced from Koza Banday in Swat and is living with a relative in Kotha area of Swabi. Abdul came to ActionAid’s medical camp with his three children who were suffering from a viral chest infection.
“When you have no shelter, no money, no proper food and no medicine for your ailing kids, you are no where,” said Abdul. “I am jobless and homeless. I was depressed, as I could not get medicine for my three coughing kids. But with this medical camp in my area, a doctor examined my kids and they got medicine. I hope they will soon be better.”
Please support ActionAid and its critical work in Pakistan to provide supplies to those displaced by the ongoing fighting.
-------------------------------------
FROM THE INTERACTION SITE for Armed Conflict:
Crisis in Pakistan
ActionAid is providing immediate relief in the form of food, water, medical supplies and sanitation facilities. We are assessing medium on long-term needs, such as helping families secure copies of their registration documents which many families left behind when they fled but which are strictly required by the government. We are also trying to meet the needs for clothing and shelter. For the many women and children displaced there are concerns of increased sexual violence and exploitation. The capacity of cities to absorb these people has been increasingly exhausted, leading to ever greater competition for scarce resources and livelihood opportunities. ActionAid will continue to provide relief while working for long-term solutions.
-> RELIEF WEB SITUATION REPORT UPDATES for ActionAid - PAKISTAN FLOODS 2010:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwc.nsf/db201ShortName/ActionAid?OpenDocument
-----------------------------------------
From RELIEF WEB:
Pakistan Update: desperate need as the rain hammers down
Source: ActionAid
Date: 13 Aug 2010
Relief efforts in Pakistan continue to be hampered by torrential rain, rising flood waters and ruined infrastructure as thousands remain out of reach despite aid workers attempting to reach victims by helicopter, boat, on foot or with donkeys.
A third of the country, a land mass the size of England, is now underwater as the flood wave passes through the southern province of Sindh. Water levels continue to rise ever further, threatening the Guddu and Sukkur barrages. Mass evacuations are seeing families pour out of villages and into relief camps as people anticipate the worst.
Muhammad Hayat Sial, who works for ActionAid, is part of the relief team in Kot Addu in Punjab providing aid to survivors in coordination with the district government:
"We were the first ones to reach those hit by the disaster in Koh Addu with rescue and relief support. So far, five relief camps have been set up in government buildings and 3,000 people are being provided with food, medical care and washing facilities. We are looking after the specific needs of women and girls and providing female doctors. In this camp there are 35 expectant mothers, three of which have just given birth," he said.
ActionAid is helping 23,000 people throughout the country, and plans to scale up coverage in the days to come as urgent needs for food, clean water, medical care, shelter and household goods continue to multiply.
The flooding has so far claimed the lives of at least 1,600 people and affected up to 14 million, more than those affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami (five million), the 2005 Kashmir earthquake (three million) and the 2010 Haiti earthquake (three million) combined.
-----------------------------------------
From the InterAction site - Pakistan Floods 7/10:
ActionAid Pakistan works in many of the flood-affected areas. We will provide immediate support in terms of food, non-food items, water, sanitation, hygiene and construction of shelters in Upper Swat (union councils Matta, Kalam, Madian and Bahran). Our emergency response will also be targeted at flood affected communities of the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) province who have suffered damage to life, property and livelihood due to the heavy flash floods. We will attempt to support as many families as possible with special emphasis on women, children, people with disabilities and elderly people. Special attention will also be given to people living with HIV and AIDS and religious minorities in the area.
------------------------------------------
From the site - Pakistan Floods July 2010:
ActionAid appeals for support as floods ravage Pakistan
Floods caused by a week of heavy rain have killed more than 1,600 people in Pakistan's northwest, and rescuers are battling to distribute relief to tens of thousands of trapped people.
Please give generously now.
A westerly weather system moving in from Iran and Afghanistan, combined with heavy monsoon rain, caused dramatic floods in Pakistan in the past week, with the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) the worst hit. The Pakistani authorities believe these to be the worst floods to have hit the country in the past 80 years.
The provinces of Balochistan and Punjab are also hard-hit. Authorities estimate that four million people have been affected, with infrastructure receiving major damage. Rushing water also has washed away crops, government buildings, businesses, schools, bridges, and homes. As the floods head south, more destruction is feared. In southern Punjab at least 1.1 million acres of crops have been destroyed, and the Government of Pakistan has established 170 relief camps for 22,000 people. In Sindh Province, to the south of Punjab, rescue workers are preparing for the arrival of the flood waters, and more than 350,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas.
The severity of the flooding has caused enormous damage to the country’s infrastructure in both rural and urban areas. Entire settlements of mud-brick houses are reported to have been swept away, major bridges have collapsed, and some major provincial cities have been totally cut off after road and rail links were severed. The widespread disruption to the country’s communications network has meant that reaching the worst-hit areas of the country is extremely difficult.
The Government of Pakistan has requested the support of the international community to meet the needs of those affected. The Pakistani meteorological office is also forecasting heavier rain than usual during this year’s monsoon season and the country’s major rivers, including the Indus, Jhelum and Kabul, are expected to reach dangerously high levels.
ActionAid’s Response
ActionAid Pakistan works in many of the flood-affected areas, and is already providing food, personal hygiene kits and household essentials in 7 districts, with support for 4 more on the way. ActionAid will provide immediate support in terms of food, non-food items, water, sanitation, hygiene and construction of shelters in Upper Swat (union councils Matta, Kalam, Madian and Bahran). Our emergency response will also be targeted at flood affected communities of the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) province of Pakistan who have suffered damage to life, property and livelihood due to the heavy flash floods. We will attempt to support as many families as possible with special emphasis on reaching out to women, children, people with disabilities and elderly people. Special attention will also be given to people living with HIV and AIDS and religious minorities in the area.
Efforts will be made to cater to the needs of people who have suffered the most damages as a result of the flood. We will be implementing the project through partners and will be providing technical assistance to local partners throughout the project. ActionAid will closely monitor the project to ensure that standard emergency protocols are followed.
Just as importantly, ActionAid is already developing a framework for longer-term response, including strategies for disaster risk reduction and livelihood support. Please stand with ActionAid as we reach out to the people of Pakistan.
------------------------------------------
FROM THE SITE - Pakistan Armed Conflict(Not dated but viewed 8/2/10):
Work Continues to Meet Displaced Pakistanis' Immediate Needs
As millions of Pakistanis flee the Swat Valley, a hotspot of combat between the Taliban and Pakistani military, they’re discovering that they’ve rushed into another crisis: uncomfortable, sometimes unsanitary camps overwhelmed by the influx of evacuees.
Despite the hardships, they know going back to their once-beautiful land is not an option right now.
“I miss my home where Taliban are living now,” said Zartaja Bibi, a woman trembling in a camp in Takht Bhai. But the Taliban warned her that she could either leave or have her throat cut.
ActionAid, long familiar with problems in the country, was on the ground early and saw an urgent need for food, water, shelter, sanitation and health care. And, as workers visit camps, they see the need for aid growing.
Since May 2, escalated fighting in Swat and other embattled areas has forced an estimated 2.4 million people to relocate. Although most of those leaving the Swat Valley are now living with friends or family, in the dwindling number of apartments available for rent or in makeshift settlements of their own, those forced into the camps face stifling heat and scarce supplies. Massive international aid is needed to prevent a disaster in the camps, according to the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.
Nearly three-quarters of those leaving the Swat Valley and surrounding districts are children who face particularly dangerous hardships, in terms of both the journey, and when they arrive and settle in camps or private homes.
“Families have been separated as some members took to the road while their relatives remained at home, either unwillingly trapped due to fighting and curfew, or intentionally staying back to look after houses and livestock,” said Javeria Ayaz Malik, communications coordinator for ActionAid Pakistan.
The journey is long and hard. Transport is scarce and children are walking more than 100 kilometers. Many become separated from their families or lost.
Takht Bhai, the first area on the way out of Swat, houses hundreds of thousands people who’ve fled the war-torn valley or the similarly embattled district of Buner.
With ice a rare luxury and temperatures surpassing 100 degrees, one man there said he couldn’t bear to drink hot water; he fainted from dehydration. People say the food is tasteless, with nothing but cooked lentil gravy for flavoring.
Meanwhile, women and small children cram themselves into tents with hand fans, stepping outside only to use the toilet. Purdah — the Muslim veil tradition of secluding women from men — prevents women from leaving the privacy of the tents, and a lack of hygiene products feeds sanitation problems.
Diseases such as acute respiratory infections, acute diarrhea and lower respiratory infection have struck many and are spreading, according to the World Health Organization. In Takht Bhai, ActionAid met a 2-year-old boy covered in mosquito bites and a malaria patient whose family said they were plagued by mosquitoes but had no repellents or nets.
If conditions in the camps worsen, many fear that their angry and desperate residents will turn to the Taliban, the only organization to provide them with basic materials and a sense of respect.
So far, most people appear to support the government and its response, but the danger that displaced Pakistanis will turn to militant extremism grows as they are separated from their homes by a conflict with no clear end in sight.
“The fighting could continue for a longer period, so they will not be going home soon,” said Fikre Zewdie, director of ActionAid Pakistan. “Pakistan cannot handle a crisis on this scale without international help.”
ActionAid is on the ground helping to meet Pakistanis’ immediate needs. As of June, we are assisting 4,000 families in Swabi, Mardan and Hasan Abdul, in part by providing food and non-food items, as well as health and hygiene facilities
We are also collaborating with Shifa College of Medicines and Nursing to extended medical care and treatment and medicines to hundreds of people.
Abdul Jabbar, 41, is displaced from Koza Banday in Swat and is living with a relative in Kotha area of Swabi. Abdul came to ActionAid’s medical camp with his three children who were suffering from a viral chest infection.
“When you have no shelter, no money, no proper food and no medicine for your ailing kids, you are no where,” said Abdul. “I am jobless and homeless. I was depressed, as I could not get medicine for my three coughing kids. But with this medical camp in my area, a doctor examined my kids and they got medicine. I hope they will soon be better.”
Please support ActionAid and its critical work in Pakistan to provide supplies to those displaced by the ongoing fighting.
-------------------------------------
FROM THE INTERACTION SITE for Armed Conflict:
Crisis in Pakistan
ActionAid is providing immediate relief in the form of food, water, medical supplies and sanitation facilities. We are assessing medium on long-term needs, such as helping families secure copies of their registration documents which many families left behind when they fled but which are strictly required by the government. We are also trying to meet the needs for clothing and shelter. For the many women and children displaced there are concerns of increased sexual violence and exploitation. The capacity of cities to absorb these people has been increasingly exhausted, leading to ever greater competition for scarce resources and livelihood opportunities. ActionAid will continue to provide relief while working for long-term solutions.
(show/hide changes)Sun Aug 15 14:52:51 +0000 2010 by LTel:added notes
notes: From the InterAction site - Pakistan Floods 7/10:
ActionAid Pakistan works in many of the flood-affected areas. We will provide immediate support in terms of food, non-food items, water, sanitation, hygiene and construction of shelters in Upper Swat (union councils Matta, Kalam, Madian and Bahran). Our emergency response will also be targeted at flood affected communities of the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) province who have suffered damage to life, property and livelihood due to the heavy flash floods. We will attempt to support as many families as possible with special emphasis on women, children, people with disabilities and elderly people. Special attention will also be given to people living with HIV and AIDS and religious minorities in the area.
------------------------------------------
From the site - Pakistan Floods:
ActionAid appeals for support as floods ravage Pakistan
Floods caused by a week of heavy rain have killed more than 1,600 people in Pakistan's northwest, and rescuers are battling to distribute relief to tens of thousands of trapped people.
Please give generously now.
A westerly weather system moving in from Iran and Afghanistan, combined with heavy monsoon rain, caused dramatic floods in Pakistan in the past week, with the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) the worst hit. The Pakistani authorities believe these to be the worst floods to have hit the country in the past 80 years.
The provinces of Balochistan and Punjab are also hard-hit. Authorities estimate that four million people have been affected, with infrastructure receiving major damage. Rushing water also has washed away crops, government buildings, businesses, schools, bridges, and homes. As the floods head south, more destruction is feared. In southern Punjab at least 1.1 million acres of crops have been destroyed, and the Government of Pakistan has established 170 relief camps for 22,000 people. In Sindh Province, to the south of Punjab, rescue workers are preparing for the arrival of the flood waters, and more than 350,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas.
The severity of the flooding has caused enormous damage to the country’s infrastructure in both rural and urban areas. Entire settlements of mud-brick houses are reported to have been swept away, major bridges have collapsed, and some major provincial cities have been totally cut off after road and rail links were severed. The widespread disruption to the country’s communications network has meant that reaching the worst-hit areas of the country is extremely difficult.
The Government of Pakistan has requested the support of the international community to meet the needs of those affected. The Pakistani meteorological office is also forecasting heavier rain than usual during this year’s monsoon season and the country’s major rivers, including the Indus, Jhelum and Kabul, are expected to reach dangerously high levels.
ActionAid’s Response
ActionAid Pakistan works in many of the flood-affected areas, and is already providing food, personal hygiene kits and household essentials in 7 districts, with support for 4 more on the way. ActionAid will provide immediate support in terms of food, non-food items, water, sanitation, hygiene and construction of shelters in Upper Swat (union councils Matta, Kalam, Madian and Bahran). Our emergency response will also be targeted at flood affected communities of the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) province of Pakistan who have suffered damage to life, property and livelihood due to the heavy flash floods. We will attempt to support as many families as possible with special emphasis on reaching out to women, children, people with disabilities and elderly people. Special attention will also be given to people living with HIV and AIDS and religious minorities in the area.
Efforts will be made to cater to the needs of people who have suffered the most damages as a result of the flood. We will be implementing the project through partners and will be providing technical assistance to local partners throughout the project. ActionAid will closely monitor the project to ensure that standard emergency protocols are followed.
Just as importantly, ActionAid is already developing a framework for longer-term response, including strategies for disaster risk reduction and livelihood support. Please stand with ActionAid as we reach out to the people of Pakistan.
------------------------------------------
FROM THE SITE - Pakistan Armed Conflict(Not dated but viewed 8/2/10):
Work Continues to Meet Displaced Pakistanis' Immediate Needs
As millions of Pakistanis flee the Swat Valley, a hotspot of combat between the Taliban and Pakistani military, they’re discovering that they’ve rushed into another crisis: uncomfortable, sometimes unsanitary camps overwhelmed by the influx of evacuees.
Despite the hardships, they know going back to their once-beautiful land is not an option right now.
“I miss my home where Taliban are living now,” said Zartaja Bibi, a woman trembling in a camp in Takht Bhai. But the Taliban warned her that she could either leave or have her throat cut.
ActionAid, long familiar with problems in the country, was on the ground early and saw an urgent need for food, water, shelter, sanitation and health care. And, as workers visit camps, they see the need for aid growing.
Since May 2, escalated fighting in Swat and other embattled areas has forced an estimated 2.4 million people to relocate. Although most of those leaving the Swat Valley are now living with friends or family, in the dwindling number of apartments available for rent or in makeshift settlements of their own, those forced into the camps face stifling heat and scarce supplies. Massive international aid is needed to prevent a disaster in the camps, according to the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.
Nearly three-quarters of those leaving the Swat Valley and surrounding districts are children who face particularly dangerous hardships, in terms of both the journey, and when they arrive and settle in camps or private homes.
“Families have been separated as some members took to the road while their relatives remained at home, either unwillingly trapped due to fighting and curfew, or intentionally staying back to look after houses and livestock,” said Javeria Ayaz Malik, communications coordinator for ActionAid Pakistan.
The journey is long and hard. Transport is scarce and children are walking more than 100 kilometers. Many become separated from their families or lost.
Takht Bhai, the first area on the way out of Swat, houses hundreds of thousands people who’ve fled the war-torn valley or the similarly embattled district of Buner.
With ice a rare luxury and temperatures surpassing 100 degrees, one man there said he couldn’t bear to drink hot water; he fainted from dehydration. People say the food is tasteless, with nothing but cooked lentil gravy for flavoring.
Meanwhile, women and small children cram themselves into tents with hand fans, stepping outside only to use the toilet. Purdah — the Muslim veil tradition of secluding women from men — prevents women from leaving the privacy of the tents, and a lack of hygiene products feeds sanitation problems.
Diseases such as acute respiratory infections, acute diarrhea and lower respiratory infection have struck many and are spreading, according to the World Health Organization. In Takht Bhai, ActionAid met a 2-year-old boy covered in mosquito bites and a malaria patient whose family said they were plagued by mosquitoes but had no repellents or nets.
If conditions in the camps worsen, many fear that their angry and desperate residents will turn to the Taliban, the only organization to provide them with basic materials and a sense of respect.
So far, most people appear to support the government and its response, but the danger that displaced Pakistanis will turn to militant extremism grows as they are separated from their homes by a conflict with no clear end in sight.
“The fighting could continue for a longer period, so they will not be going home soon,” said Fikre Zewdie, director of ActionAid Pakistan. “Pakistan cannot handle a crisis on this scale without international help.”
ActionAid is on the ground helping to meet Pakistanis’ immediate needs. As of June, we are assisting 4,000 families in Swabi, Mardan and Hasan Abdul, in part by providing food and non-food items, as well as health and hygiene facilities
We are also collaborating with Shifa College of Medicines and Nursing to extended medical care and treatment and medicines to hundreds of people.
Abdul Jabbar, 41, is displaced from Koza Banday in Swat and is living with a relative in Kotha area of Swabi. Abdul came to ActionAid’s medical camp with his three children who were suffering from a viral chest infection.
“When you have no shelter, no money, no proper food and no medicine for your ailing kids, you are no where,” said Abdul. “I am jobless and homeless. I was depressed, as I could not get medicine for my three coughing kids. But with this medical camp in my area, a doctor examined my kids and they got medicine. I hope they will soon be better.”
Please support ActionAid and its critical work in Pakistan to provide supplies to those displaced by the ongoing fighting.
-------------------------------------
FROM THE INTERACTION SITE for Armed Conflict:
Crisis in Pakistan
ActionAid is providing immediate relief in the form of food, water, medical supplies and sanitation facilities. We are assessing medium on long-term needs, such as helping families secure copies of their registration documents which many families left behind when they fled but which are strictly required by the government. We are also trying to meet the needs for clothing and shelter. For the many women and children displaced there are concerns of increased sexual violence and exploitation. The capacity of cities to absorb these people has been increasingly exhausted, leading to ever greater competition for scarce resources and livelihood opportunities. ActionAid will continue to provide relief while working for long-term solutions.
-> RELIEF WEB SITUATION REPORT UPDATES - PAKISTAN FLOODS 2010:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwc.nsf/db201ShortName/ActionAid?OpenDocument
-----------------------------------------
From RELIEF WEB:
Pakistan Update: desperate need as the rain hammers down
Source: ActionAid
Date: 13 Aug 2010
Relief efforts in Pakistan continue to be hampered by torrential rain, rising flood waters and ruined infrastructure as thousands remain out of reach despite aid workers attempting to reach victims by helicopter, boat, on foot or with donkeys.
A third of the country, a land mass the size of England, is now underwater as the flood wave passes through the southern province of Sindh. Water levels continue to rise ever further, threatening the Guddu and Sukkur barrages. Mass evacuations are seeing families pour out of villages and into relief camps as people anticipate the worst.
Muhammad Hayat Sial, who works for ActionAid, is part of the relief team in Kot Addu in Punjab providing aid to survivors in coordination with the district government:
"We were the first ones to reach those hit by the disaster in Koh Addu with rescue and relief support. So far, five relief camps have been set up in government buildings and 3,000 people are being provided with food, medical care and washing facilities. We are looking after the specific needs of women and girls and providing female doctors. In this camp there are 35 expectant mothers, three of which have just given birth," he said.
ActionAid is helping 23,000 people throughout the country, and plans to scale up coverage in the days to come as urgent needs for food, clean water, medical care, shelter and household goods continue to multiply.
The flooding has so far claimed the lives of at least 1,600 people and affected up to 14 million, more than those affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami (five million), the 2005 Kashmir earthquake (three million) and the 2010 Haiti earthquake (three million) combined.
-----------------------------------------
From the InterAction site - Pakistan Floods 7/10:
ActionAid Pakistan works in many of the flood-affected areas. We will provide immediate support in terms of food, non-food items, water, sanitation, hygiene and construction of shelters in Upper Swat (union councils Matta, Kalam, Madian and Bahran). Our emergency response will also be targeted at flood affected communities of the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) province who have suffered damage to life, property and livelihood due to the heavy flash floods. We will attempt to support as many families as possible with special emphasis on women, children, people with disabilities and elderly people. Special attention will also be given to people living with HIV and AIDS and religious minorities in the area.
------------------------------------------
From the site - Pakistan Floods July 2010:
ActionAid appeals for support as floods ravage Pakistan
Floods caused by a week of heavy rain have killed more than 1,600 people in Pakistan's northwest, and rescuers are battling to distribute relief to tens of thousands of trapped people.
Please give generously now.
A westerly weather system moving in from Iran and Afghanistan, combined with heavy monsoon rain, caused dramatic floods in Pakistan in the past week, with the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) the worst hit. The Pakistani authorities believe these to be the worst floods to have hit the country in the past 80 years.
The provinces of Balochistan and Punjab are also hard-hit. Authorities estimate that four million people have been affected, with infrastructure receiving major damage. Rushing water also has washed away crops, government buildings, businesses, schools, bridges, and homes. As the floods head south, more destruction is feared. In southern Punjab at least 1.1 million acres of crops have been destroyed, and the Government of Pakistan has established 170 relief camps for 22,000 people. In Sindh Province, to the south of Punjab, rescue workers are preparing for the arrival of the flood waters, and more than 350,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas.
The severity of the flooding has caused enormous damage to the country’s infrastructure in both rural and urban areas. Entire settlements of mud-brick houses are reported to have been swept away, major bridges have collapsed, and some major provincial cities have been totally cut off after road and rail links were severed. The widespread disruption to the country’s communications network has meant that reaching the worst-hit areas of the country is extremely difficult.
The Government of Pakistan has requested the support of the international community to meet the needs of those affected. The Pakistani meteorological office is also forecasting heavier rain than usual during this year’s monsoon season and the country’s major rivers, including the Indus, Jhelum and Kabul, are expected to reach dangerously high levels.
ActionAid’s Response
ActionAid Pakistan works in many of the flood-affected areas, and is already providing food, personal hygiene kits and household essentials in 7 districts, with support for 4 more on the way. ActionAid will provide immediate support in terms of food, non-food items, water, sanitation, hygiene and construction of shelters in Upper Swat (union councils Matta, Kalam, Madian and Bahran). Our emergency response will also be targeted at flood affected communities of the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) province of Pakistan who have suffered damage to life, property and livelihood due to the heavy flash floods. We will attempt to support as many families as possible with special emphasis on reaching out to women, children, people with disabilities and elderly people. Special attention will also be given to people living with HIV and AIDS and religious minorities in the area.
Efforts will be made to cater to the needs of people who have suffered the most damages as a result of the flood. We will be implementing the project through partners and will be providing technical assistance to local partners throughout the project. ActionAid will closely monitor the project to ensure that standard emergency protocols are followed.
Just as importantly, ActionAid is already developing a framework for longer-term response, including strategies for disaster risk reduction and livelihood support. Please stand with ActionAid as we reach out to the people of Pakistan.
------------------------------------------
FROM THE SITE - Pakistan Armed Conflict(Not dated but viewed 8/2/10):
Work Continues to Meet Displaced Pakistanis' Immediate Needs
As millions of Pakistanis flee the Swat Valley, a hotspot of combat between the Taliban and Pakistani military, they’re discovering that they’ve rushed into another crisis: uncomfortable, sometimes unsanitary camps overwhelmed by the influx of evacuees.
Despite the hardships, they know going back to their once-beautiful land is not an option right now.
“I miss my home where Taliban are living now,” said Zartaja Bibi, a woman trembling in a camp in Takht Bhai. But the Taliban warned her that she could either leave or have her throat cut.
ActionAid, long familiar with problems in the country, was on the ground early and saw an urgent need for food, water, shelter, sanitation and health care. And, as workers visit camps, they see the need for aid growing.
Since May 2, escalated fighting in Swat and other embattled areas has forced an estimated 2.4 million people to relocate. Although most of those leaving the Swat Valley are now living with friends or family, in the dwindling number of apartments available for rent or in makeshift settlements of their own, those forced into the camps face stifling heat and scarce supplies. Massive international aid is needed to prevent a disaster in the camps, according to the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.
Nearly three-quarters of those leaving the Swat Valley and surrounding districts are children who face particularly dangerous hardships, in terms of both the journey, and when they arrive and settle in camps or private homes.
“Families have been separated as some members took to the road while their relatives remained at home, either unwillingly trapped due to fighting and curfew, or intentionally staying back to look after houses and livestock,” said Javeria Ayaz Malik, communications coordinator for ActionAid Pakistan.
The journey is long and hard. Transport is scarce and children are walking more than 100 kilometers. Many become separated from their families or lost.
Takht Bhai, the first area on the way out of Swat, houses hundreds of thousands people who’ve fled the war-torn valley or the similarly embattled district of Buner.
With ice a rare luxury and temperatures surpassing 100 degrees, one man there said he couldn’t bear to drink hot water; he fainted from dehydration. People say the food is tasteless, with nothing but cooked lentil gravy for flavoring.
Meanwhile, women and small children cram themselves into tents with hand fans, stepping outside only to use the toilet. Purdah — the Muslim veil tradition of secluding women from men — prevents women from leaving the privacy of the tents, and a lack of hygiene products feeds sanitation problems.
Diseases such as acute respiratory infections, acute diarrhea and lower respiratory infection have struck many and are spreading, according to the World Health Organization. In Takht Bhai, ActionAid met a 2-year-old boy covered in mosquito bites and a malaria patient whose family said they were plagued by mosquitoes but had no repellents or nets.
If conditions in the camps worsen, many fear that their angry and desperate residents will turn to the Taliban, the only organization to provide them with basic materials and a sense of respect.
So far, most people appear to support the government and its response, but the danger that displaced Pakistanis will turn to militant extremism grows as they are separated from their homes by a conflict with no clear end in sight.
“The fighting could continue for a longer period, so they will not be going home soon,” said Fikre Zewdie, director of ActionAid Pakistan. “Pakistan cannot handle a crisis on this scale without international help.”
ActionAid is on the ground helping to meet Pakistanis’ immediate needs. As of June, we are assisting 4,000 families in Swabi, Mardan and Hasan Abdul, in part by providing food and non-food items, as well as health and hygiene facilities
We are also collaborating with Shifa College of Medicines and Nursing to extended medical care and treatment and medicines to hundreds of people.
Abdul Jabbar, 41, is displaced from Koza Banday in Swat and is living with a relative in Kotha area of Swabi. Abdul came to ActionAid’s medical camp with his three children who were suffering from a viral chest infection.
“When you have no shelter, no money, no proper food and no medicine for your ailing kids, you are no where,” said Abdul. “I am jobless and homeless. I was depressed, as I could not get medicine for my three coughing kids. But with this medical camp in my area, a doctor examined my kids and they got medicine. I hope they will soon be better.”
Please support ActionAid and its critical work in Pakistan to provide supplies to those displaced by the ongoing fighting.
-------------------------------------
FROM THE INTERACTION SITE for Armed Conflict:
Crisis in Pakistan
ActionAid is providing immediate relief in the form of food, water, medical supplies and sanitation facilities. We are assessing medium on long-term needs, such as helping families secure copies of their registration documents which many families left behind when they fled but which are strictly required by the government. We are also trying to meet the needs for clothing and shelter. For the many women and children displaced there are concerns of increased sexual violence and exploitation. The capacity of cities to absorb these people has been increasingly exhausted, leading to ever greater competition for scarce resources and livelihood opportunities. ActionAid will continue to provide relief while working for long-term solutions.
(show/hide changes)Sat Aug 07 16:04:26 +0000 2010 by LTel:notes: From the InterAction site - Pakistan Floods 7/10:
ActionAid Pakistan works in many of the flood-affected areas. We will provide immediate support in terms of food, non-food items, water, sanitation, hygiene and construction of shelters in Upper Swat (union councils Matta, Kalam, Madian and Bahran). Our emergency response will also be targeted at flood affected communities of the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) province who have suffered damage to life, property and livelihood due to the heavy flash floods. We will attempt to support as many families as possible with special emphasis on women, children, people with disabilities and elderly people. Special attention will also be given to people living with HIV and AIDS and religious minorities in the area.
------------------------------------------
FROM THE SITE - Pakistan Armed Conflict(Not dated but viewed 8/2/10):
Work Continues to Meet Displaced Pakistanis' Immediate Needs
As millions of Pakistanis flee the Swat Valley, a hotspot of combat between the Taliban and Pakistani military, they’re discovering that they’ve rushed into another crisis: uncomfortable, sometimes unsanitary camps overwhelmed by the influx of evacuees.
Despite the hardships, they know going back to their once-beautiful land is not an option right now.
“I miss my home where Taliban are living now,” said Zartaja Bibi, a woman trembling in a camp in Takht Bhai. But the Taliban warned her that she could either leave or have her throat cut.
ActionAid, long familiar with problems in the country, was on the ground early and saw an urgent need for food, water, shelter, sanitation and health care. And, as workers visit camps, they see the need for aid growing.
Since May 2, escalated fighting in Swat and other embattled areas has forced an estimated 2.4 million people to relocate. Although most of those leaving the Swat Valley are now living with friends or family, in the dwindling number of apartments available for rent or in makeshift settlements of their own, those forced into the camps face stifling heat and scarce supplies. Massive international aid is needed to prevent a disaster in the camps, according to the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.
Nearly three-quarters of those leaving the Swat Valley and surrounding districts are children who face particularly dangerous hardships, in terms of both the journey, and when they arrive and settle in camps or private homes.
“Families have been separated as some members took to the road while their relatives remained at home, either unwillingly trapped due to fighting and curfew, or intentionally staying back to look after houses and livestock,” said Javeria Ayaz Malik, communications coordinator for ActionAid Pakistan.
The journey is long and hard. Transport is scarce and children are walking more than 100 kilometers. Many become separated from their families or lost.
Takht Bhai, the first area on the way out of Swat, houses hundreds of thousands people who’ve fled the war-torn valley or the similarly embattled district of Buner.
With ice a rare luxury and temperatures surpassing 100 degrees, one man there said he couldn’t bear to drink hot water; he fainted from dehydration. People say the food is tasteless, with nothing but cooked lentil gravy for flavoring.
Meanwhile, women and small children cram themselves into tents with hand fans, stepping outside only to use the toilet. Purdah — the Muslim veil tradition of secluding women from men — prevents women from leaving the privacy of the tents, and a lack of hygiene products feeds sanitation problems.
Diseases such as acute respiratory infections, acute diarrhea and lower respiratory infection have struck many and are spreading, according to the World Health Organization. In Takht Bhai, ActionAid met a 2-year-old boy covered in mosquito bites and a malaria patient whose family said they were plagued by mosquitoes but had no repellents or nets.
If conditions in the camps worsen, many fear that their angry and desperate residents will turn to the Taliban, the only organization to provide them with basic materials and a sense of respect.
So far, most people appear to support the government and its response, but the danger that displaced Pakistanis will turn to militant extremism grows as they are separated from their homes by a conflict with no clear end in sight.
“The fighting could continue for a longer period, so they will not be going home soon,” said Fikre Zewdie, director of ActionAid Pakistan. “Pakistan cannot handle a crisis on this scale without international help.”
ActionAid is on the ground helping to meet Pakistanis’ immediate needs. As of June, we are assisting 4,000 families in Swabi, Mardan and Hasan Abdul, in part by providing food and non-food items, as well as health and hygiene facilities
We are also collaborating with Shifa College of Medicines and Nursing to extended medical care and treatment and medicines to hundreds of people.
Abdul Jabbar, 41, is displaced from Koza Banday in Swat and is living with a relative in Kotha area of Swabi. Abdul came to ActionAid’s medical camp with his three children who were suffering from a viral chest infection.
“When you have no shelter, no money, no proper food and no medicine for your ailing kids, you are no where,” said Abdul. “I am jobless and homeless. I was depressed, as I could not get medicine for my three coughing kids. But with this medical camp in my area, a doctor examined my kids and they got medicine. I hope they will soon be better.”
Please support ActionAid and its critical work in Pakistan to provide supplies to those displaced by the ongoing fighting.
-------------------------------------
FROM THE INTERACTION SITE for Armed Conflict:
Crisis in Pakistan
ActionAid is providing immediate relief in the form of food, water, medical supplies and sanitation facilities. We are assessing medium on long-term needs, such as helping families secure copies of their registration documents which many families left behind when they fled but which are strictly required by the government. We are also trying to meet the needs for clothing and shelter. For the many women and children displaced there are concerns of increased sexual violence and exploitation. The capacity of cities to absorb these people has been increasingly exhausted, leading to ever greater competition for scarce resources and livelihood opportunities. ActionAid will continue to provide relief while working for long-term solutions.
-> From the InterAction site - Pakistan Floods 7/10:
ActionAid Pakistan works in many of the flood-affected areas. We will provide immediate support in terms of food, non-food items, water, sanitation, hygiene and construction of shelters in Upper Swat (union councils Matta, Kalam, Madian and Bahran). Our emergency response will also be targeted at flood affected communities of the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) province who have suffered damage to life, property and livelihood due to the heavy flash floods. We will attempt to support as many families as possible with special emphasis on women, children, people with disabilities and elderly people. Special attention will also be given to people living with HIV and AIDS and religious minorities in the area.
------------------------------------------
From the site - Pakistan Floods:
ActionAid appeals for support as floods ravage Pakistan
Floods caused by a week of heavy rain have killed more than 1,600 people in Pakistan's northwest, and rescuers are battling to distribute relief to tens of thousands of trapped people.
Please give generously now.
A westerly weather system moving in from Iran and Afghanistan, combined with heavy monsoon rain, caused dramatic floods in Pakistan in the past week, with the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) the worst hit. The Pakistani authorities believe these to be the worst floods to have hit the country in the past 80 years.
The provinces of Balochistan and Punjab are also hard-hit. Authorities estimate that four million people have been affected, with infrastructure receiving major damage. Rushing water also has washed away crops, government buildings, businesses, schools, bridges, and homes. As the floods head south, more destruction is feared. In southern Punjab at least 1.1 million acres of crops have been destroyed, and the Government of Pakistan has established 170 relief camps for 22,000 people. In Sindh Province, to the south of Punjab, rescue workers are preparing for the arrival of the flood waters, and more than 350,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas.
The severity of the flooding has caused enormous damage to the country’s infrastructure in both rural and urban areas. Entire settlements of mud-brick houses are reported to have been swept away, major bridges have collapsed, and some major provincial cities have been totally cut off after road and rail links were severed. The widespread disruption to the country’s communications network has meant that reaching the worst-hit areas of the country is extremely difficult.
The Government of Pakistan has requested the support of the international community to meet the needs of those affected. The Pakistani meteorological office is also forecasting heavier rain than usual during this year’s monsoon season and the country’s major rivers, including the Indus, Jhelum and Kabul, are expected to reach dangerously high levels.
ActionAid’s Response
ActionAid Pakistan works in many of the flood-affected areas, and is already providing food, personal hygiene kits and household essentials in 7 districts, with support for 4 more on the way. ActionAid will provide immediate support in terms of food, non-food items, water, sanitation, hygiene and construction of shelters in Upper Swat (union councils Matta, Kalam, Madian and Bahran). Our emergency response will also be targeted at flood affected communities of the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) province of Pakistan who have suffered damage to life, property and livelihood due to the heavy flash floods. We will attempt to support as many families as possible with special emphasis on reaching out to women, children, people with disabilities and elderly people. Special attention will also be given to people living with HIV and AIDS and religious minorities in the area.
Efforts will be made to cater to the needs of people who have suffered the most damages as a result of the flood. We will be implementing the project through partners and will be providing technical assistance to local partners throughout the project. ActionAid will closely monitor the project to ensure that standard emergency protocols are followed.
Just as importantly, ActionAid is already developing a framework for longer-term response, including strategies for disaster risk reduction and livelihood support. Please stand with ActionAid as we reach out to the people of Pakistan.
------------------------------------------
FROM THE SITE - Pakistan Armed Conflict(Not dated but viewed 8/2/10):
Work Continues to Meet Displaced Pakistanis' Immediate Needs
As millions of Pakistanis flee the Swat Valley, a hotspot of combat between the Taliban and Pakistani military, they’re discovering that they’ve rushed into another crisis: uncomfortable, sometimes unsanitary camps overwhelmed by the influx of evacuees.
Despite the hardships, they know going back to their once-beautiful land is not an option right now.
“I miss my home where Taliban are living now,” said Zartaja Bibi, a woman trembling in a camp in Takht Bhai. But the Taliban warned her that she could either leave or have her throat cut.
ActionAid, long familiar with problems in the country, was on the ground early and saw an urgent need for food, water, shelter, sanitation and health care. And, as workers visit camps, they see the need for aid growing.
Since May 2, escalated fighting in Swat and other embattled areas has forced an estimated 2.4 million people to relocate. Although most of those leaving the Swat Valley are now living with friends or family, in the dwindling number of apartments available for rent or in makeshift settlements of their own, those forced into the camps face stifling heat and scarce supplies. Massive international aid is needed to prevent a disaster in the camps, according to the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.
Nearly three-quarters of those leaving the Swat Valley and surrounding districts are children who face particularly dangerous hardships, in terms of both the journey, and when they arrive and settle in camps or private homes.
“Families have been separated as some members took to the road while their relatives remained at home, either unwillingly trapped due to fighting and curfew, or intentionally staying back to look after houses and livestock,” said Javeria Ayaz Malik, communications coordinator for ActionAid Pakistan.
The journey is long and hard. Transport is scarce and children are walking more than 100 kilometers. Many become separated from their families or lost.
Takht Bhai, the first area on the way out of Swat, houses hundreds of thousands people who’ve fled the war-torn valley or the similarly embattled district of Buner.
With ice a rare luxury and temperatures surpassing 100 degrees, one man there said he couldn’t bear to drink hot water; he fainted from dehydration. People say the food is tasteless, with nothing but cooked lentil gravy for flavoring.
Meanwhile, women and small children cram themselves into tents with hand fans, stepping outside only to use the toilet. Purdah — the Muslim veil tradition of secluding women from men — prevents women from leaving the privacy of the tents, and a lack of hygiene products feeds sanitation problems.
Diseases such as acute respiratory infections, acute diarrhea and lower respiratory infection have struck many and are spreading, according to the World Health Organization. In Takht Bhai, ActionAid met a 2-year-old boy covered in mosquito bites and a malaria patient whose family said they were plagued by mosquitoes but had no repellents or nets.
If conditions in the camps worsen, many fear that their angry and desperate residents will turn to the Taliban, the only organization to provide them with basic materials and a sense of respect.
So far, most people appear to support the government and its response, but the danger that displaced Pakistanis will turn to militant extremism grows as they are separated from their homes by a conflict with no clear end in sight.
“The fighting could continue for a longer period, so they will not be going home soon,” said Fikre Zewdie, director of ActionAid Pakistan. “Pakistan cannot handle a crisis on this scale without international help.”
ActionAid is on the ground helping to meet Pakistanis’ immediate needs. As of June, we are assisting 4,000 families in Swabi, Mardan and Hasan Abdul, in part by providing food and non-food items, as well as health and hygiene facilities
We are also collaborating with Shifa College of Medicines and Nursing to extended medical care and treatment and medicines to hundreds of people.
Abdul Jabbar, 41, is displaced from Koza Banday in Swat and is living with a relative in Kotha area of Swabi. Abdul came to ActionAid’s medical camp with his three children who were suffering from a viral chest infection.
“When you have no shelter, no money, no proper food and no medicine for your ailing kids, you are no where,” said Abdul. “I am jobless and homeless. I was depressed, as I could not get medicine for my three coughing kids. But with this medical camp in my area, a doctor examined my kids and they got medicine. I hope they will soon be better.”
Please support ActionAid and its critical work in Pakistan to provide supplies to those displaced by the ongoing fighting.
-------------------------------------
FROM THE INTERACTION SITE for Armed Conflict:
Crisis in Pakistan
ActionAid is providing immediate relief in the form of food, water, medical supplies and sanitation facilities. We are assessing medium on long-term needs, such as helping families secure copies of their registration documents which many families left behind when they fled but which are strictly required by the government. We are also trying to meet the needs for clothing and shelter. For the many women and children displaced there are concerns of increased sexual violence and exploitation. The capacity of cities to absorb these people has been increasingly exhausted, leading to ever greater competition for scarce resources and livelihood opportunities. ActionAid will continue to provide relief while working for long-term solutions.
(show/hide changes)Sat Aug 07 16:01:57 +0000 2010 by LTel:notes: FROM THE INTERACTION SITE for Armed Conflict:
Crisis in Pakistan
ActionAid is providing immediate relief in the form of food, water, medical supplies and sanitation facilities. We are assessing medium on long-term needs, such as helping families secure copies of their registration documents which many families left behind when they fled but which are strictly required by the government. We are also trying to meet the needs for clothing and shelter. For the many women and children displaced there are concerns of increased sexual violence and exploitation. The capacity of cities to absorb these people has been increasingly exhausted, leading to ever greater competition for scarce resources and livelihood opportunities. ActionAid will continue to provide relief while working for long-term solutions.
----------------------------------------
From the InterAction site - Pakistan Floods 7/10:
ActionAid Pakistan works in many of the flood-affected areas. We will provide immediate support in terms of food, non-food items, water, sanitation, hygiene and construction of shelters in Upper Swat (union councils Matta, Kalam, Madian and Bahran). Our emergency response will also be targeted at flood affected communities of the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) province who have suffered damage to life, property and livelihood due to the heavy flash floods. We will attempt to support as many families as possible with special emphasis on women, children, people with disabilities and elderly people. Special attention will also be given to people living with HIV and AIDS and religious minorities in the area.
------------------------------------------
FROM THE SITE - Pakistan Armed Conflict(Not dated but viewed 8/2/10):
Work Continues to Meet Displaced Pakistanis' Immediate Needs
As millions of Pakistanis flee the Swat Valley, a hotspot of combat between the Taliban and Pakistani military, they’re discovering that they’ve rushed into another crisis: uncomfortable, sometimes unsanitary camps overwhelmed by the influx of evacuees.
Despite the hardships, they know going back to their once-beautiful land is not an option right now.
“I miss my home where Taliban are living now,” said Zartaja Bibi, a woman trembling in a camp in Takht Bhai. But the Taliban warned her that she could either leave or have her throat cut.
ActionAid, long familiar with problems in the country, was on the ground early and saw an urgent need for food, water, shelter, sanitation and health care. And, as workers visit camps, they see the need for aid growing.
Since May 2, escalated fighting in Swat and other embattled areas has forced an estimated 2.4 million people to relocate. Although most of those leaving the Swat Valley are now living with friends or family, in the dwindling number of apartments available for rent or in makeshift settlements of their own, those forced into the camps face stifling heat and scarce supplies. Massive international aid is needed to prevent a disaster in the camps, according to the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.
Nearly three-quarters of those leaving the Swat Valley and surrounding districts are children who face particularly dangerous hardships, in terms of both the journey, and when they arrive and settle in camps or private homes.
“Families have been separated as some members took to the road while their relatives remained at home, either unwillingly trapped due to fighting and curfew, or intentionally staying back to look after houses and livestock,” said Javeria Ayaz Malik, communications coordinator for ActionAid Pakistan.
The journey is long and hard. Transport is scarce and children are walking more than 100 kilometers. Many become separated from their families or lost.
Takht Bhai, the first area on the way out of Swat, houses hundreds of thousands people who’ve fled the war-torn valley or the similarly embattled district of Buner.
With ice a rare luxury and temperatures surpassing 100 degrees, one man there said he couldn’t bear to drink hot water; he fainted from dehydration. People say the food is tasteless, with nothing but cooked lentil gravy for flavoring.
Meanwhile, women and small children cram themselves into tents with hand fans, stepping outside only to use the toilet. Purdah — the Muslim veil tradition of secluding women from men — prevents women from leaving the privacy of the tents, and a lack of hygiene products feeds sanitation problems.
Diseases such as acute respiratory infections, acute diarrhea and lower respiratory infection have struck many and are spreading, according to the World Health Organization. In Takht Bhai, ActionAid met a 2-year-old boy covered in mosquito bites and a malaria patient whose family said they were plagued by mosquitoes but had no repellents or nets.
If conditions in the camps worsen, many fear that their angry and desperate residents will turn to the Taliban, the only organization to provide them with basic materials and a sense of respect.
So far, most people appear to support the government and its response, but the danger that displaced Pakistanis will turn to militant extremism grows as they are separated from their homes by a conflict with no clear end in sight.
“The fighting could continue for a longer period, so they will not be going home soon,” said Fikre Zewdie, director of ActionAid Pakistan. “Pakistan cannot handle a crisis on this scale without international help.”
ActionAid is on the ground helping to meet Pakistanis’ immediate needs. As of June, we are assisting 4,000 families in Swabi, Mardan and Hasan Abdul, in part by providing food and non-food items, as well as health and hygiene facilities
We are also collaborating with Shifa College of Medicines and Nursing to extended medical care and treatment and medicines to hundreds of people.
Abdul Jabbar, 41, is displaced from Koza Banday in Swat and is living with a relative in Kotha area of Swabi. Abdul came to ActionAid’s medical camp with his three children who were suffering from a viral chest infection.
“When you have no shelter, no money, no proper food and no medicine for your ailing kids, you are no where,” said Abdul. “I am jobless and homeless. I was depressed, as I could not get medicine for my three coughing kids. But with this medical camp in my area, a doctor examined my kids and they got medicine. I hope they will soon be better.”
Please support ActionAid and its critical work in Pakistan to provide supplies to those displaced by the ongoing fighting. -> From the InterAction site - Pakistan Floods 7/10:
ActionAid Pakistan works in many of the flood-affected areas. We will provide immediate support in terms of food, non-food items, water, sanitation, hygiene and construction of shelters in Upper Swat (union councils Matta, Kalam, Madian and Bahran). Our emergency response will also be targeted at flood affected communities of the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) province who have suffered damage to life, property and livelihood due to the heavy flash floods. We will attempt to support as many families as possible with special emphasis on women, children, people with disabilities and elderly people. Special attention will also be given to people living with HIV and AIDS and religious minorities in the area.
------------------------------------------
FROM THE SITE - Pakistan Armed Conflict(Not dated but viewed 8/2/10):
Work Continues to Meet Displaced Pakistanis' Immediate Needs
As millions of Pakistanis flee the Swat Valley, a hotspot of combat between the Taliban and Pakistani military, they’re discovering that they’ve rushed into another crisis: uncomfortable, sometimes unsanitary camps overwhelmed by the influx of evacuees.
Despite the hardships, they know going back to their once-beautiful land is not an option right now.
“I miss my home where Taliban are living now,” said Zartaja Bibi, a woman trembling in a camp in Takht Bhai. But the Taliban warned her that she could either leave or have her throat cut.
ActionAid, long familiar with problems in the country, was on the ground early and saw an urgent need for food, water, shelter, sanitation and health care. And, as workers visit camps, they see the need for aid growing.
Since May 2, escalated fighting in Swat and other embattled areas has forced an estimated 2.4 million people to relocate. Although most of those leaving the Swat Valley are now living with friends or family, in the dwindling number of apartments available for rent or in makeshift settlements of their own, those forced into the camps face stifling heat and scarce supplies. Massive international aid is needed to prevent a disaster in the camps, according to the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.
Nearly three-quarters of those leaving the Swat Valley and surrounding districts are children who face particularly dangerous hardships, in terms of both the journey, and when they arrive and settle in camps or private homes.
“Families have been separated as some members took to the road while their relatives remained at home, either unwillingly trapped due to fighting and curfew, or intentionally staying back to look after houses and livestock,” said Javeria Ayaz Malik, communications coordinator for ActionAid Pakistan.
The journey is long and hard. Transport is scarce and children are walking more than 100 kilometers. Many become separated from their families or lost.
Takht Bhai, the first area on the way out of Swat, houses hundreds of thousands people who’ve fled the war-torn valley or the similarly embattled district of Buner.
With ice a rare luxury and temperatures surpassing 100 degrees, one man there said he couldn’t bear to drink hot water; he fainted from dehydration. People say the food is tasteless, with nothing but cooked lentil gravy for flavoring.
Meanwhile, women and small children cram themselves into tents with hand fans, stepping outside only to use the toilet. Purdah — the Muslim veil tradition of secluding women from men — prevents women from leaving the privacy of the tents, and a lack of hygiene products feeds sanitation problems.
Diseases such as acute respiratory infections, acute diarrhea and lower respiratory infection have struck many and are spreading, according to the World Health Organization. In Takht Bhai, ActionAid met a 2-year-old boy covered in mosquito bites and a malaria patient whose family said they were plagued by mosquitoes but had no repellents or nets.
If conditions in the camps worsen, many fear that their angry and desperate residents will turn to the Taliban, the only organization to provide them with basic materials and a sense of respect.
So far, most people appear to support the government and its response, but the danger that displaced Pakistanis will turn to militant extremism grows as they are separated from their homes by a conflict with no clear end in sight.
“The fighting could continue for a longer period, so they will not be going home soon,” said Fikre Zewdie, director of ActionAid Pakistan. “Pakistan cannot handle a crisis on this scale without international help.”
ActionAid is on the ground helping to meet Pakistanis’ immediate needs. As of June, we are assisting 4,000 families in Swabi, Mardan and Hasan Abdul, in part by providing food and non-food items, as well as health and hygiene facilities
We are also collaborating with Shifa College of Medicines and Nursing to extended medical care and treatment and medicines to hundreds of people.
Abdul Jabbar, 41, is displaced from Koza Banday in Swat and is living with a relative in Kotha area of Swabi. Abdul came to ActionAid’s medical camp with his three children who were suffering from a viral chest infection.
“When you have no shelter, no money, no proper food and no medicine for your ailing kids, you are no where,” said Abdul. “I am jobless and homeless. I was depressed, as I could not get medicine for my three coughing kids. But with this medical camp in my area, a doctor examined my kids and they got medicine. I hope they will soon be better.”
Please support ActionAid and its critical work in Pakistan to provide supplies to those displaced by the ongoing fighting.
-------------------------------------
FROM THE INTERACTION SITE for Armed Conflict:
Crisis in Pakistan
ActionAid is providing immediate relief in the form of food, water, medical supplies and sanitation facilities. We are assessing medium on long-term needs, such as helping families secure copies of their registration documents which many families left behind when they fled but which are strictly required by the government. We are also trying to meet the needs for clothing and shelter. For the many women and children displaced there are concerns of increased sexual violence and exploitation. The capacity of cities to absorb these people has been increasingly exhausted, leading to ever greater competition for scarce resources and livelihood opportunities. ActionAid will continue to provide relief while working for long-term solutions.
(show/hide changes)Sat Aug 07 16:01:06 +0000 2010 by LTel:name: ActionAid (USA) - 2010 - Pakistan Floods / Armed Conflict -> ActionAid (USA) - 2010 Pakistan Floods / Armed Conflict
(show/hide changes)Sat Aug 07 15:58:14 +0000 2010 by LTel:added notes/corrected facility name
name: ActionAid (USA) - 2010 - Pakistan-Humanitarian Aid for Armed Conflict -> ActionAid (USA) - 2010 - Pakistan Floods / Armed Conflict
notes: FROM THE INTERACTION SITE 8/2/10:
Crisis in Pakistan
ActionAid is providing immediate relief in the form of food, water, medical supplies and sanitation facilities. We are assessing medium on long-term needs, such as helping families secure copies of their registration documents which many families left behind when they fled but which are strictly required by the government. We are also trying to meet the needs for clothing and shelter. For the many women and children displaced there are concerns of increased sexual violence and exploitation. The capacity of cities to absorb these people has been increasingly exhausted, leading to ever greater competition for scarce resources and livelihood opportunities. ActionAid will continue to provide relief while working for long-term solutions.
----------------------------------------
FROM THE SITE (Not dated but viewed 8/2/10):
Work Continues to Meet Displaced Pakistanis' Immediate Needs
As millions of Pakistanis flee the Swat Valley, a hotspot of combat between the Taliban and Pakistani military, they’re discovering that they’ve rushed into another crisis: uncomfortable, sometimes unsanitary camps overwhelmed by the influx of evacuees.
Despite the hardships, they know going back to their once-beautiful land is not an option right now.
“I miss my home where Taliban are living now,” said Zartaja Bibi, a woman trembling in a camp in Takht Bhai. But the Taliban warned her that she could either leave or have her throat cut.
ActionAid, long familiar with problems in the country, was on the ground early and saw an urgent need for food, water, shelter, sanitation and health care. And, as workers visit camps, they see the need for aid growing.
Since May 2, escalated fighting in Swat and other embattled areas has forced an estimated 2.4 million people to relocate. Although most of those leaving the Swat Valley are now living with friends or family, in the dwindling number of apartments available for rent or in makeshift settlements of their own, those forced into the camps face stifling heat and scarce supplies. Massive international aid is needed to prevent a disaster in the camps, according to the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.
Nearly three-quarters of those leaving the Swat Valley and surrounding districts are children who face particularly dangerous hardships, in terms of both the journey, and when they arrive and settle in camps or private homes.
“Families have been separated as some members took to the road while their relatives remained at home, either unwillingly trapped due to fighting and curfew, or intentionally staying back to look after houses and livestock,” said Javeria Ayaz Malik, communications coordinator for ActionAid Pakistan.
The journey is long and hard. Transport is scarce and children are walking more than 100 kilometers. Many become separated from their families or lost.
Takht Bhai, the first area on the way out of Swat, houses hundreds of thousands people who’ve fled the war-torn valley or the similarly embattled district of Buner.
With ice a rare luxury and temperatures surpassing 100 degrees, one man there said he couldn’t bear to drink hot water; he fainted from dehydration. People say the food is tasteless, with nothing but cooked lentil gravy for flavoring.
Meanwhile, women and small children cram themselves into tents with hand fans, stepping outside only to use the toilet. Purdah — the Muslim veil tradition of secluding women from men — prevents women from leaving the privacy of the tents, and a lack of hygiene products feeds sanitation problems.
Diseases such as acute respiratory infections, acute diarrhea and lower respiratory infection have struck many and are spreading, according to the World Health Organization. In Takht Bhai, ActionAid met a 2-year-old boy covered in mosquito bites and a malaria patient whose family said they were plagued by mosquitoes but had no repellents or nets.
If conditions in the camps worsen, many fear that their angry and desperate residents will turn to the Taliban, the only organization to provide them with basic materials and a sense of respect.
So far, most people appear to support the government and its response, but the danger that displaced Pakistanis will turn to militant extremism grows as they are separated from their homes by a conflict with no clear end in sight.
“The fighting could continue for a longer period, so they will not be going home soon,” said Fikre Zewdie, director of ActionAid Pakistan. “Pakistan cannot handle a crisis on this scale without international help.”
ActionAid is on the ground helping to meet Pakistanis’ immediate needs. As of June, we are assisting 4,000 families in Swabi, Mardan and Hasan Abdul, in part by providing food and non-food items, as well as health and hygiene facilities
We are also collaborating with Shifa College of Medicines and Nursing to extended medical care and treatment and medicines to hundreds of people.
Abdul Jabbar, 41, is displaced from Koza Banday in Swat and is living with a relative in Kotha area of Swabi. Abdul came to ActionAid’s medical camp with his three children who were suffering from a viral chest infection.
“When you have no shelter, no money, no proper food and no medicine for your ailing kids, you are no where,” said Abdul. “I am jobless and homeless. I was depressed, as I could not get medicine for my three coughing kids. But with this medical camp in my area, a doctor examined my kids and they got medicine. I hope they will soon be better.”
Please support ActionAid and its critical work in Pakistan to provide supplies to those displaced by the ongoing fighting. -> FROM THE INTERACTION SITE for Armed Conflict:
Crisis in Pakistan
ActionAid is providing immediate relief in the form of food, water, medical supplies and sanitation facilities. We are assessing medium on long-term needs, such as helping families secure copies of their registration documents which many families left behind when they fled but which are strictly required by the government. We are also trying to meet the needs for clothing and shelter. For the many women and children displaced there are concerns of increased sexual violence and exploitation. The capacity of cities to absorb these people has been increasingly exhausted, leading to ever greater competition for scarce resources and livelihood opportunities. ActionAid will continue to provide relief while working for long-term solutions.
----------------------------------------
From the InterAction site - Pakistan Floods 7/10:
ActionAid Pakistan works in many of the flood-affected areas. We will provide immediate support in terms of food, non-food items, water, sanitation, hygiene and construction of shelters in Upper Swat (union councils Matta, Kalam, Madian and Bahran). Our emergency response will also be targeted at flood affected communities of the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) province who have suffered damage to life, property and livelihood due to the heavy flash floods. We will attempt to support as many families as possible with special emphasis on women, children, people with disabilities and elderly people. Special attention will also be given to people living with HIV and AIDS and religious minorities in the area.
------------------------------------------
FROM THE SITE - Pakistan Armed Conflict(Not dated but viewed 8/2/10):
Work Continues to Meet Displaced Pakistanis' Immediate Needs
As millions of Pakistanis flee the Swat Valley, a hotspot of combat between the Taliban and Pakistani military, they’re discovering that they’ve rushed into another crisis: uncomfortable, sometimes unsanitary camps overwhelmed by the influx of evacuees.
Despite the hardships, they know going back to their once-beautiful land is not an option right now.
“I miss my home where Taliban are living now,” said Zartaja Bibi, a woman trembling in a camp in Takht Bhai. But the Taliban warned her that she could either leave or have her throat cut.
ActionAid, long familiar with problems in the country, was on the ground early and saw an urgent need for food, water, shelter, sanitation and health care. And, as workers visit camps, they see the need for aid growing.
Since May 2, escalated fighting in Swat and other embattled areas has forced an estimated 2.4 million people to relocate. Although most of those leaving the Swat Valley are now living with friends or family, in the dwindling number of apartments available for rent or in makeshift settlements of their own, those forced into the camps face stifling heat and scarce supplies. Massive international aid is needed to prevent a disaster in the camps, according to the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.
Nearly three-quarters of those leaving the Swat Valley and surrounding districts are children who face particularly dangerous hardships, in terms of both the journey, and when they arrive and settle in camps or private homes.
“Families have been separated as some members took to the road while their relatives remained at home, either unwillingly trapped due to fighting and curfew, or intentionally staying back to look after houses and livestock,” said Javeria Ayaz Malik, communications coordinator for ActionAid Pakistan.
The journey is long and hard. Transport is scarce and children are walking more than 100 kilometers. Many become separated from their families or lost.
Takht Bhai, the first area on the way out of Swat, houses hundreds of thousands people who’ve fled the war-torn valley or the similarly embattled district of Buner.
With ice a rare luxury and temperatures surpassing 100 degrees, one man there said he couldn’t bear to drink hot water; he fainted from dehydration. People say the food is tasteless, with nothing but cooked lentil gravy for flavoring.
Meanwhile, women and small children cram themselves into tents with hand fans, stepping outside only to use the toilet. Purdah — the Muslim veil tradition of secluding women from men — prevents women from leaving the privacy of the tents, and a lack of hygiene products feeds sanitation problems.
Diseases such as acute respiratory infections, acute diarrhea and lower respiratory infection have struck many and are spreading, according to the World Health Organization. In Takht Bhai, ActionAid met a 2-year-old boy covered in mosquito bites and a malaria patient whose family said they were plagued by mosquitoes but had no repellents or nets.
If conditions in the camps worsen, many fear that their angry and desperate residents will turn to the Taliban, the only organization to provide them with basic materials and a sense of respect.
So far, most people appear to support the government and its response, but the danger that displaced Pakistanis will turn to militant extremism grows as they are separated from their homes by a conflict with no clear end in sight.
“The fighting could continue for a longer period, so they will not be going home soon,” said Fikre Zewdie, director of ActionAid Pakistan. “Pakistan cannot handle a crisis on this scale without international help.”
ActionAid is on the ground helping to meet Pakistanis’ immediate needs. As of June, we are assisting 4,000 families in Swabi, Mardan and Hasan Abdul, in part by providing food and non-food items, as well as health and hygiene facilities
We are also collaborating with Shifa College of Medicines and Nursing to extended medical care and treatment and medicines to hundreds of people.
Abdul Jabbar, 41, is displaced from Koza Banday in Swat and is living with a relative in Kotha area of Swabi. Abdul came to ActionAid’s medical camp with his three children who were suffering from a viral chest infection.
“When you have no shelter, no money, no proper food and no medicine for your ailing kids, you are no where,” said Abdul. “I am jobless and homeless. I was depressed, as I could not get medicine for my three coughing kids. But with this medical camp in my area, a doctor examined my kids and they got medicine. I hope they will soon be better.”
Please support ActionAid and its critical work in Pakistan to provide supplies to those displaced by the ongoing fighting.
(show/hide changes)Wed Aug 04 21:53:52 +0000 2010 by LTel:organization: -> Non-Profit Disaster Relief/Humanitarean Outreach
(show/hide changes)Wed Aug 04 21:27:58 +0000 2010 by LTel:added region
region: -> Middle East
(show/hide changes)Mon Aug 02 17:10:16 +0000 2010 by LTel:name: ActionAid (USA) - 2010 Humanitarian Aid for Armed Conflict -> ActionAid (USA) - 2010 - Pakistan-Humanitarian Aid for Armed Conflict
(show/hide changes)Mon Aug 02 17:03:54 +0000 2010 by LTel:notes: Crisis in Pakistan
ActionAid is providing immediate relief in the form of food, water, medical supplies and sanitation facilities. We are assessing medium on long-term needs, such as helping families secure copies of their registration documents which many families left behind when they fled but which are strictly required by the government. We are also trying to meet the needs for clothing and shelter. For the many women and children displaced there are concerns of increased sexual violence and exploitation. The capacity of cities to absorb these people has been increasingly exhausted, leading to ever greater competition for scarce resources and livelihood opportunities. ActionAid will continue to provide relief while working for long-term solutions. -> FROM THE INTERACTION SITE 8/2/10:
Crisis in Pakistan
ActionAid is providing immediate relief in the form of food, water, medical supplies and sanitation facilities. We are assessing medium on long-term needs, such as helping families secure copies of their registration documents which many families left behind when they fled but which are strictly required by the government. We are also trying to meet the needs for clothing and shelter. For the many women and children displaced there are concerns of increased sexual violence and exploitation. The capacity of cities to absorb these people has been increasingly exhausted, leading to ever greater competition for scarce resources and livelihood opportunities. ActionAid will continue to provide relief while working for long-term solutions.
----------------------------------------
FROM THE SITE (Not dated but viewed 8/2/10):
Work Continues to Meet Displaced Pakistanis' Immediate Needs
As millions of Pakistanis flee the Swat Valley, a hotspot of combat between the Taliban and Pakistani military, they’re discovering that they’ve rushed into another crisis: uncomfortable, sometimes unsanitary camps overwhelmed by the influx of evacuees.
Despite the hardships, they know going back to their once-beautiful land is not an option right now.
“I miss my home where Taliban are living now,” said Zartaja Bibi, a woman trembling in a camp in Takht Bhai. But the Taliban warned her that she could either leave or have her throat cut.
ActionAid, long familiar with problems in the country, was on the ground early and saw an urgent need for food, water, shelter, sanitation and health care. And, as workers visit camps, they see the need for aid growing.
Since May 2, escalated fighting in Swat and other embattled areas has forced an estimated 2.4 million people to relocate. Although most of those leaving the Swat Valley are now living with friends or family, in the dwindling number of apartments available for rent or in makeshift settlements of their own, those forced into the camps face stifling heat and scarce supplies. Massive international aid is needed to prevent a disaster in the camps, according to the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.
Nearly three-quarters of those leaving the Swat Valley and surrounding districts are children who face particularly dangerous hardships, in terms of both the journey, and when they arrive and settle in camps or private homes.
“Families have been separated as some members took to the road while their relatives remained at home, either unwillingly trapped due to fighting and curfew, or intentionally staying back to look after houses and livestock,” said Javeria Ayaz Malik, communications coordinator for ActionAid Pakistan.
The journey is long and hard. Transport is scarce and children are walking more than 100 kilometers. Many become separated from their families or lost.
Takht Bhai, the first area on the way out of Swat, houses hundreds of thousands people who’ve fled the war-torn valley or the similarly embattled district of Buner.
With ice a rare luxury and temperatures surpassing 100 degrees, one man there said he couldn’t bear to drink hot water; he fainted from dehydration. People say the food is tasteless, with nothing but cooked lentil gravy for flavoring.
Meanwhile, women and small children cram themselves into tents with hand fans, stepping outside only to use the toilet. Purdah — the Muslim veil tradition of secluding women from men — prevents women from leaving the privacy of the tents, and a lack of hygiene products feeds sanitation problems.
Diseases such as acute respiratory infections, acute diarrhea and lower respiratory infection have struck many and are spreading, according to the World Health Organization. In Takht Bhai, ActionAid met a 2-year-old boy covered in mosquito bites and a malaria patient whose family said they were plagued by mosquitoes but had no repellents or nets.
If conditions in the camps worsen, many fear that their angry and desperate residents will turn to the Taliban, the only organization to provide them with basic materials and a sense of respect.
So far, most people appear to support the government and its response, but the danger that displaced Pakistanis will turn to militant extremism grows as they are separated from their homes by a conflict with no clear end in sight.
“The fighting could continue for a longer period, so they will not be going home soon,” said Fikre Zewdie, director of ActionAid Pakistan. “Pakistan cannot handle a crisis on this scale without international help.”
ActionAid is on the ground helping to meet Pakistanis’ immediate needs. As of June, we are assisting 4,000 families in Swabi, Mardan and Hasan Abdul, in part by providing food and non-food items, as well as health and hygiene facilities
We are also collaborating with Shifa College of Medicines and Nursing to extended medical care and treatment and medicines to hundreds of people.
Abdul Jabbar, 41, is displaced from Koza Banday in Swat and is living with a relative in Kotha area of Swabi. Abdul came to ActionAid’s medical camp with his three children who were suffering from a viral chest infection.
“When you have no shelter, no money, no proper food and no medicine for your ailing kids, you are no where,” said Abdul. “I am jobless and homeless. I was depressed, as I could not get medicine for my three coughing kids. But with this medical camp in my area, a doctor examined my kids and they got medicine. I hope they will soon be better.”
Please support ActionAid and its critical work in Pakistan to provide supplies to those displaced by the ongoing fighting.
areas_served: -> Swabi, Mardan and Hasan Abdul
mission:
ActionAid International works in partnership with poor and excluded people to eradicate poverty and injustice. Our programs focus on advancing women's rights, the right to education, the right to food, the right to security during conflict and emergencies, the right to life with dignity in the face of HIV/AIDS, and the right to just and democratic governance. ActionAid International USA is the US affiliate of ActionAid International, working in coordination with ActionAid colleagues in 50 countries to support the efforts of poor communities to secure their rights. -> ActionAid International works in partnership with poor and excluded people to eradicate poverty and injustice. Our programs focus on advancing women's rights, the right to education, the right to food, the right to security during conflict and emergencies, the right to life with dignity in the face of HIV/AIDS, and the right to just and democratic governance. ActionAid International USA is the US affiliate of ActionAid International, working in coordination with ActionAid colleagues in 50 countries to support the efforts of poor communities to secure their rights.
(show/hide changes)Mon Aug 02 16:58:28 +0000 2010 by LTel:name: ActionAid - 2010 Humanitarian Aid for Armed Conflict -> ActionAid (USA) - 2010 Humanitarian Aid for Armed Conflict
mission:
ActionAid International works in partnership with poor and excluded people to eradicate poverty and injustice. Our programs focus on advancing women's rights, the right to education, the right to food, the right to security during conflict and emergencies, the right to life with dignity in the face of HIV/AIDS, and the right to just and democratic governance. ActionAid International USA is the US affiliate of ActionAid International, working in coordination with ActionAid colleagues in 50 countries to support the efforts of poor communities to secure their rights. ->
ActionAid International works in partnership with poor and excluded people to eradicate poverty and injustice. Our programs focus on advancing women's rights, the right to education, the right to food, the right to security during conflict and emergencies, the right to life with dignity in the face of HIV/AIDS, and the right to just and democratic governance. ActionAid International USA is the US affiliate of ActionAid International, working in coordination with ActionAid colleagues in 50 countries to support the efforts of poor communities to secure their rights.
(show/hide changes)Mon Aug 02 16:57:02 +0000 2010 by LTel:(show/hide changes)(hide history)