BIGGEST CHALLENGES IN PAKISTAN ARE YET TO COME: UN HUMANITARIAN CHIEF

(Islamabad/New York/Geneva, 9 September 2010): On the final day of her mission to Pakistan, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos today visited a camp for people displaced by the floods in Nowshera, in the north-western Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

"The world's attention is waning at a time when some of the biggest challenges for the relief effort here are still to come," said Ms. Amos. "In some parts of Pakistan, a new disaster is happening every few days and millions of people are still waiting for the support they need to survive. Elsewhere, particularly in the north, people affected when the floods started in late July are now looking to us for help to get back on their feet. Making sure the relief effort tackles both is going to be a huge test of our ability to coordinate and work effectively over the coming weeks and months."

During her visit to Nowshera, Ms. Amos visited the Khandar Camp close to the centre of Nowshera, where 399 families are living in tents and regularly receiving water, food and other basic necessities. She spoke with female heads of households who described to her the days in late July and August when walls of water swept through the province, collapsing more than 200,000 houses and affecting over 4.3 million people. A male head of household told Ms. Amos that the waters have receded and he needs to get back to his land before the growing season is over.

"Many of the people I met today want to restart their lives as soon as possible, which is something we absolutely must respond to. Giving people what they need to farm again and eventually to rebuild their lives is as much a part of the relief effort as delivering food, water and healthcare. But we must not forget that elsewhere in the vast area affected by these floods, there are millions of recently displaced people also suffering and waiting for life-saving assistance," said Ms. Amos.

Floods in Pakistan since late July have already created one of the largest humanitarian crises the United Nations and humanitarian community have ever responded to, and flood waters are still spreading. Aid agencies have mobilised resources to reach millions of people throughout the 160,000 square kilometres of land affected by the floods. However some United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations are running out of funds.

For further information, please call: OCHA Islamabad: Maurizio Giuliano,+92 300 8502397 giuliano@un.org; Stacey Winston, +92 300 8502690, winston@un.org; OCHA New York: Stephanie Bunker, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 347 244 2106, bunker@un.org; Nicholas Reader, +1 212 963 4961, mobile +1 646 752 3117, reader@un.org; OCHA Geneva: Elisabeth Byrs, +41 22 917 2653, mobile +41 79 473 4570, byrs@un.org

OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int