PAKISTAN
You’ve all seen the terrible situation developing in Pakistan.
What you didn’t see is the damaged water sources, destroyed
food stocks and spreading disease.
AAI has a team ready to deploy but we need your help now.
For the cost of a coffee or bottle of water you can directly
contribute to the saving of lives in Pakistan.
Other Operations:
> Oct 2005 - May 2006 (Pakistan Earthquake)
Current Operations:
28 August 2010
Flood-affected children face life saving race
The death toll from the floods in Pakistan that were caused by uncommonly heavy monsoon rains a month ago, is expected to rise a member of the Pakistan Government has said. There are now 72,000 children affected by severe malnutrition in flood-hit areas who are at a very real risk of death if life-saving treatment is not immediately provided.
As the Indus River threatens to burst its banks in Sindh Province in Southern Pakistan, authorities have ordered the evacuation of another three towns and 400,000 people. Singh has been particularly hard-hit with 19 of its 23 districts despoiled by floods.
New estimates put the scale of destruction at previously unseen levels with estimated repair times measured in decades. Hospitals, schools, roads, bridges and communications infrastructure has been destroyed in at least 20 percent of the country. Approximately 10,000 kilometres of roads and railways have been wrecked by the floods. New estimates put the country's repair bill in excess of $7 million. Every bridge in the mountainous KPK Province destroyed. The famous Karakoram Highway that stretches along cliffs all the way from the Himalayas to Islamabad is now impassable with large areas of road now missing as cliffs crumbled under the force of raging water. Officials believe the road will be closed for years.
The intergovernmental International Organisation for Migration (IOM) estimates that 4.5 million people still require emergency shelter.
Although aid has begun to arrive in the country and humanitarian organisations continue their life-saving work, it is believed that hundreds of thousands of people will not receive the required assistance due to the scale and geographic size of this disaster.
Australian Aid International continues to work with its local and international partners.
22 August 2010
Six million people in need of emergency food aid
As the crop-planting season rapidly approaches, it is becoming apparent that the impact of this disaster may become catastrophic as livelihoods and food security is threatened. Ongoing analysis reveals that 7.9 million acres of crops have been lost across Pakistan . A total of 71 percent of rice crops, 59 percent of vegetable crops and 45 percent of maize crops are now destroyed. With farmers unlikely to be able to plant next season's crops and unable to salvage this season's, at least 6 million people will require ongoing assistance and emergency food aid for the next two years.
In the western part of Pakistan , relief operations have continued in challenging situations. Helicopters are increasingly finding it difficult to find suitable places to land, forcing them to drop their relief supplies from the air. This is creating secondary problems with some supplies landing in deep water and hovering helicopters creating dangerous situations, with two women killed on the weekend after a wall collapsed on them while a helicopter was hovering near by.
Thousands of people still remain isolated by deep water and many towns are cut-off from assistance; now facing shortages of food, clean water and medical supplies. In the West, hospitals, rural health centres and government offices remain submerged by flood waters.
Even in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), where the response has been quicker, gaps are still significant. Road access continues to be a challenge in many parts of KPK. Some aid groups are also reporting that the security situation is restricting their humanitarian activities.
In Punjab and Sindh, greater assistance is still required. Vast populations, spread over large geographical areas are making relief operations more difficult than usual. The head of the disaster management authority in Sindh Province has said that a further 200,000 people were forced to relocate over the weekend as flood waters continued to rise. The northern parts of Sindh have been underwater for over a week.
Recent imagery shows increasing damage from floods in Balochistan Province . The United Nations' High Commission for Refugees has already established five refugee camps in main cities.
Resuming education remains difficult with nearly 5,000 schools damaged or destroyed by the disaster and another 5,000 schools inhabited by an estimated half a million people. Unsanitary conditions and crowded living spaces are impacted by dirty water and a summer heat that is contributing to what is proving to be ideal conditions for disease.
The Australian Government has deployed a military contingent of medical and health personnel to flood ravaged Pakistan . The group will assist with efforts to assist the increasing health disaster in Punjab Province . There are approximately 800,000 people living in the area where the military will set-up their base.
18 August 2010
United Nations urges greater assistance from the international community.
"I am here to urge the world to step up their generous support for Pakistan," said United Nations’ Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during a news conference after he visited flood affected areas i nPakistan. "This disaster is far from over. The rains are still falling and could continue for weeks”.
Agriculture, which is a significant part of Pakistan’s economy, has suffered greatly from these floods with wheat, cotton and sugar crops affected. Nearly 20 percent of the cultivatable areas have so far been damaged or lost across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Baluchistan, Punjab and Sindh provinces. Many farmers have also lost their entire poultry stocks, with others reporting a total of over 200,000 livestock lost in recent weeks. In KPK alone, there are now 725,000 animals requiring emergency veterinary assistance and feed.
Recent estimates put the total number of houses significantly damaged or destroyed at 893,000.
Prime Minister Gilani has said that the floods were a bigger crisis than the 2005 earthquake that killed almost 80,000 people. Visa restrictions have been eased for humanitarian workers, who can now obtain visas on arrival inPakistan.
With river levels continuing to fluctuate, rains in many parts of the country are continuing, with KPK in the north of country still reporting fresh floods. The UN Office of Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs has indicated that 660,000 people remain marooned by flood waters in KPK and in need of assistance. The situation in SindhProvince is also deteriorating with many parts of the Province still under water. Many parts of Punjab, Sindh and KPK have no access to clean water and are in need of purification equipment, hygiene kits and food and non-food items. There are now 350,000 people in emergency centres requiring assistance from the humanitarian community.
The United Nations estimates that up to 3.5 million children are at a significant risk of contracting lethal water-borne diseases such as watery diarrhoea and dysentery. The most recent disease surveillance data indicates that the most prominent medical conditions are skin diseases (113,045 cases), acute watery diarrhoea (86,671 cases) and respiratory tract infections (83,050 cases).
16 August 2010
Pakistanis struggle to cope as the holy month of Ramadan begins
Ramadan, the holy month when Muslims abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk, began last week. Although the tragedy of the ongoing disaster is almost unimaginable, most people in Pakistan will continue to observe the fasting period. The daily fast is usually ended at dusk with a family celebration where food is shared with friends and family. This Ramadan though, many families will be challenged to find enough food to feed their entire family. Ramadan traditionally ends with the Eid al-Fitr festival, which is the most joyous holiday in the Muslim calendar. With between 6 and 7 million people in need of food, and 2 million people homeless, this important Muslim celebration may be much less joyous this year.
Large parts of the country continue to be inaccessible by road and have only received limited humanitarian assistance so far. The World Food Program is providing food to many people in remote and mountainous parts of the country on the backs of mules. Helicopters are regularly unable to fly as conditions continue to hamper relief efforts. Last week, the UN launched its appeal for US$459 million to help the victims of the floods. Less than 10 percent of that has been met by international donors so far.
The UN stated that, “There could be a second wave of deaths due to water-borne diseases if we don't act fast enough to provide safe drinking water”. Water borne and other related diseases such as diarrhoea, malaria, dengue fever and skin infections are likely to flourish as crowded and unsanitary conditions become more common as people struggle to cope with the disaster. For the first two weeks of the crisis, the most common diseases were scabies, respiratory tract infections and at least 36,000 reported cases of potentially fatal acute watery diarrhoea.
Compounding the problem of this disaster is that over 50 health facilities have been completely destroyed and nearly 90 have been significantly damaged in the north and west of the country.
As with so many disasters, school children will continue to face the brunt, as they experience not only the physical challenges of survival, but the lack of access to proper education. In the Northern Province of Kyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), over 700 schools have been damaged and a remaining 900 schools are now being used as temporary accommodation for stranded families.
The long term predicament is dire. Millions of acres of crops have been destroyed and seed stocks ruined. Next season's crops are meant to be planted in less than one month, with much of KPK, Punjab and Sindh Provinces still under water.
The United Nation's Office of Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs has now established a national coordination centre that is hosting cluster meetings every second day in Islamabad and remote coordination hubs at Peshawar in PKP, Multan in Punjab and Sukkur in Sindh.
15 August 2010
Millions of people living in tents after devastating Pakistan floods
Pakistan hasn't seen floods of this ferocity for nearly a century. The impact has been devastating across the country with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province being the worst affected. According to the United Nations, 18 million people have been affected by these floods so far.
Hundreds of villages have been swept away in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab , while Sindh, which has seen so little water for several years, is now suffering from a deluge. Millions of refugees who have left their flooded and severely damaged homes, now live in tents made of plastic and sheets. Villages weren't the only places destroyed –several major cities, dams and bridges have also been ruined.
A total of 66 districts have been affected by floods throughout the country. Major damage includes the destruction of roads, telecommunications, bridges, civic structures, water and sanitation facilities, houses, markets, shops, and essential crops. Scores of families have been left with no where to live and no employment; life has come to a desperate standstill for millions of people.
The potential for water borne diseases is high among flood victims, particularly amongst the children. They need clean drinking water and food, medicines, tents and blankets.
Mr Azhar Ul Islam
Pakistan
11 August 2010
The plight of children plummets as sanitation conditions deteriorate
As Pakistan 's Flood Commission continues to respond to the devastation across nearly the entirety of Pakistan , it is estimated that approximately 14 million people are now in need of humanitarian assistance. Across large areas of Pakistan , the worst monsoon rains in memory have destroyed entire villages and devastated scores of communities. Due to continuing bad weather, many villages remain inaccessible and without clean food or drinking water.
Children are always among the most vulnerable during emergencies and this disaster is proving to be no different. With many reported cases of diarrhea, compounded by a lack of nutrition and exposure to extreme weather conditions, concern is rising for the plight of hundreds of thousands of children.
There is a lack of sanitation facilities in much of the affected areas as government departments and aid agencies race to provide assistance. Many health posts have also been destroyed, removing the limited health care that many people relied on. Remote communities, cut off by destroyed bridges, damaged roads and swollen rivers, now face a complicated future.
Pakistan 's Flood Commission has reported that more than 14,000 cattle have perished in the last 11 days and 2.6 million acres of cropland are now under water. So far, about 1600 deaths have been confirmed, but this figure is expected to rise.
Mr Azhar Ul Islam - Pakistan
9 August 2010
Monsoonal Floods Devastate Pakistan
Unusually heavy monsoonal rains in Central Asia have created a new humanitarian disaster in Pakistan . The United Nations has already said the size and scope of this disaster dwarfs the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami that affected much of Asia .
Heavy rain in the Northern Pakistan Provinces of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan has caused flooding and damage to the houses of over 2 million people. The death toll currently stands at 1,600 with an estimated 4.5 million people affected. As the flood waters flow south Punjab and Sind Provinces increased damage is being reported and the need for humanitarian assistance increases.
The floods, which are the worst in over a generation, are now complicated by associated mudslides which have cut off thousands of people from urgently needed relief supplies and assistance. Continued rain and low cloud cover has meant that helicopters are unable to perform their essential work of delivering supplies and rescuing the now 2 millions homeless. It is anticipated that more than 13 million people will be affected by this disaster as heavy rain continues to fall throughout the country.
Mules and navy boats are now the primary vehicles for delivering aid to victims of this disaster which stretches for over 1,000km.
The WFP has provided food assistance to 13,000 families as it continues to conduct assessments throughout the region. The Government of Pakistan has urgently requested emergency shelter, drinking water and filtration systems, blankets, hygiene kits and non-perishable food to assist with the disaster response.
Australian Aid International continues to remain abreast of the situation and in contact with its regional partners.
23 May 2010
AAI Staff Awarded Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal Awarded for Services during the Southern Asian Earthquake.
 |
| Director of Operation Frank Tyler presents volunteer Paul Piaia his HOSM medal for his work in Pakistan in 2005. |
Australian Aid International (AAI) receives recognition from the Department of the Prime Minister for its outstanding contribution in remote areas of Kashmir , Pakistan during the South Asian Earthquake in 2005.
AAI was one of the first humanitarian organisations to reach some of the most devastated villages in Pakistan . AAI provided immediate emergency medical care, urgent immunisations, emergency shelters and distributed relief goods to thousands of affected individuals. After the initial emergency, AAI remained in location and developed longer term projects to aid the many millions who had been affected and displaced. Recovery projects included public health initiatives, training of maternal and community health workers, reconstruction and water, sanitation and hygiene improvements.
AAI award recipients were presented with their Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal during a small awards service led by Director of Operations, Mr Frank Tyler. Mr Tyler, a previous Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal holder himself, for his services in Northern Iraq in the early 90's, told staff that “whilst AAI likes to complete difficult work and assist people in peril in severe environments without recognition, it is always fulfilling to know that the Australian Government is aware of what small organisations such as AAI can do to provide humanitarian assistance on the international stage .”
Australian Aid International is an international non-profit, non-government organisation that is committed to mitigating the double burden of poverty and poor access to quality health care in regions where local systems have either collapsed or are in crisis. This is achieved through the provision of emergency medicine, community and public health care, capacity building and other humanitarian initiatives. AAI is run by a group of like-minded and highly experienced humanitarian aid workers and volunteers who have been committed to responding to international disasters for many years. AAI has been able to provide outstanding programs due to its exceptional volunteers from all around the world.
AAI's comprehensive response in Kashmir , Pakistan came with challenges however this award recognizes the positive impact AAI had during such a devastating time. “The Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal solidifies AAI as a serious contributor when it comes to humanitarian disaster response,” said Mr. Tyler. AAI is dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance during times of disaster and crisis and AAI will continue to provide high quality programs well into the future.