Millions of Pakistanis still in need of post-flood assistance: UN

UNITED NATIONS - Millions of Pakistanis are ’still in need of assistance’ as they recover from the unprecedented 2010 floods that inundated large portions of the country, senior United Nations officials have stated.

“With an estimated 20 million people affected by devastating floods, the country faced its biggest ever humanitarian crisis,” the UN News Centre quoted Rauf-Engin Soysal, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Assistance to Pakistan, and UN Resident Coordinator Timo Pakkala, as saying in a joint message.

“Millions of Pakistanis still require relief assistance and full recovery of livelihoods and infrastructure will take years,” they stated.

However, Pakistan “will overcome this challenging period” through “resilience and determination and with the support of national partners and the international community”, they added.

The floods, which began in late July last year, affected some 20 million people across the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan.

Important infrastructure such as sanitation systems, bridges and roads, and schools, health centres and croplands were destroyed in the natural disaster.

In December, UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos urged the international community to provide the resources needed to help those in need of vital assistance.

“There is a continuing need for a strong financial response and I want to see attention focused on this immense human tragedy,” she told reporters following her second visit to Pakistan since the disaster.

“This is an emergency which will continue for months to come, and considerable relief efforts will continue to be necessary alongside recovery activities and development work,” she added.

The two-billion-dollar appeal for aid made in September for Pakistani flood victims, the largest-ever launched by the UN and its partners for a natural disaster, is currently 51 per cent funded. (ANI)