Plan (USA) - 2010 Pakistan Floods / Armed Conflict

FROM THE INTERACTION SITE - PAKISTAN FLOODS RESPONSE 2010:

Plan is responding to the flooding in Pakistan. Emergency interventions, undertaken in six impacted districts of Punjab and Sindh provinces, are benefiting 90,000 to 100,000 people in 13,000 families. Immediate relief phase activities include the provision of tents, food and water, as well as health and hygiene kits in shelter camps. Plan is also working with local authorities to monitor and address possible disease outbreak. As the situation continues to develop, Plan will implement further response activities on the basis of assessed need. Once flood waters recede, Plan will provide returning families with shelter kits, dry food rations, and tool and household kits to assist them in rebuilding their homes and lives.

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FROM THE SITE:

Plan responds to deadly floods in Pakistan
8/2/2010

At least 1,500 people are now confirmed dead in Pakistan, with another 1.5 million people badly affected by the worst flooding in 80 years.

Plan has begun relief work in the Southern Punjab areas of Rajanpur, Muzafargarh and Layyah, as well as districts in Sindh Province. Heavy rain fell on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, formerly North West Frontier Province, for 48 hours at the end of last week, causing almost all of the province’s rivers and streams to overflow.

Emergency response

Local authorities have set up 17 emergency shelter camps in Rajanpur and 22 in Layyah – with an average of 60 to 70 families in each camp. Plan is providing bottled water, dry milk, rations and cooked meals to over 13,000 families. Child protection is a priority, and field staff are working alongside local teams to assess the emotional distress of people affected.

27,000 people are still stranded without aid and there are now further threats of flooding in previously unaffected areas.

Disease outbreak fear

An outbreak of diarrhea and cholera is also feared: Plan is working closely with health officials to monitor and address disease, and is considering setting up mobile health camps in Layyah. Currently, Plan is assembling 13,000 health and hygiene family kits for distribution.

“Rains have washed away hundreds of homes and shops, dozens of bridges, roads and destroyed communication networks, while livestock and crops have been lost,” says Rashid Javed of Plan Pakistan.

Protecting aid supplies

As flood waters begin to enter Plan’s Disaster Risk Reduction program areas in the province of Sindh in the districts of Thatta, Ghotki and Khairpur, Plan is looking to warehouse aid supplies so that they are not damaged.

Dams and barrages were expected to reach ‘super flood’ status over the weekend, while officials fear the true scale of the crisis is not yet known. Government efforts are focused on the evacuation of villages along the river banks and low lying areas.

Information for sponsors

We will contact sponsors directly if we receive any news about individual sponsored children. If you are planning a visit or have any particular concerns around this issue, please contact our Donor Relations staff at donorrelations @planusa.org or at 1-800-556-7918.

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FROM THE INTERACTION SITE - ARMED CONFLICT RESPONSE 2010:

Plan's Pakistan Country Office is responding to the Child Protection and Psychosocial Support needs of displaced children and their families through the creation of "Child Friendly Centers" in camps and host communities of Mardan, Swabi, and Charsadda Provinces. Working with local partner organizations, Plan's program will provide safe play areas, venues for psychosocial support interventions, and health and hygiene promotion activities for up to 10,000 displaced children and their families.