PROTESTS HAVE broken out in flood-stricken regions of Pakistan, prompting fears of further unrest as aid agencies struggle to cope with a disaster that has affected at least 20 million people.
Dozens of protesters, burning straw and wielding sticks, blocked a highway outside Sukkur, a major town in the southern province of Sindh, yesterday to demand assistance from the government. All were survivors of the floods that have coursed from Pakistan’s mountainous northwest through its agricultural heartland in Punjab and on to Sindh since late last month.
“We left our homes with nothing and now we’re here with no clothes, no food and our children are living beside the road,” one protester named Gul Hasan said.
More than 1,600 people have been killed and two million made homeless in what UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon has described as the worst disaster he has ever seen.
Despite the magnitude of the crisis, the response from international donors has been slow. Only one-quarter of the $460 million (€358 million) appealed for by the UN last week to cover initial relief efforts has been provided.
During a weekend visit to Pakistan, Mr Ban announced a further $10 million (€7.9 million) from the UN’s central emergency response fund, bringing the total allocation from the fund so far to $27 million (€21 million). He repeated his calls for the international community to help Pakistan.
As aid agencies struggle to reach those in most need, rising anger and frustration has been directed at the administration of President Asif Zardari. Already unpopular before the torrential rains struck, the government is widely perceived to have dragged its heels in responding to the crisis.
Many of those forced from their homes by the floods have nothing to return to, and food supplies are dwindling in some areas. Access to remote regions, especially those where roads, bridges and other infrastructure have been swept away, remains a huge challenge. At least six million children have been affected, and they are among the most vulnerable when it comes to disease.
Up to 3.5 million children are at high risk from deadly waterborne diseases in the worst-hit regions, Maurizio Giuliano, spokesman for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said yesterday.
“What concerns us the most is water and health. Clean water is essential to prevent deadly waterborne diseases. Water during the flood has been contaminated badly. There is a shortage of clean water,” he added.
There are fears that disease may spread quickly in overcrowded and unsanitary relief camps. Already one case of cholera has been confirmed in the Swat area of northwestern Pakistan.
Weather forecasts yesterday suggested a brief respite from the monsoon rains that have pummelled the country for weeks. Authorities said water levels had fallen in Punjab, the country’s most populous province, although flooding would stay high where embankments were breached. In Sindh province, however, flooding may get worse. “In Punjab, the water level in the river is falling and in the next four to five days . . . there will be scattered rains, but they are not flood-producing,” said the director general of the meteorological department.
HOW TO HELP
IRISH CONTACTS
Action Aid 1890 704 704
www.actionaid.ie
Christian Aid Ireland 01 611 0801
www.christianaid.ie
Concern 1850 410 510
www.concern.net
Irish Red Cross 01 642 4600
www.redcross.ie
Oxfam Ireland 1850 30 40 55
www.oxfamireland.org
Trócaire 01 629 3333
www.trocaire.org
MSF Ireland 1800 905 509
www.msf.ie
Unicef Ireland 01 878 3000
www.unicef.ie
World Vision Ireland 1850 366 283
www.worldvision.ie
Goal 01 2809 779
www.goal.ie