PAKISTAN: MORE MONEY COMES IN, BUT ROAD AHEAD REMAINS LONG

(New York / Geneva / Islamabad: 18 August 2010): On the eve of World Humanitarian Day, humanitarian organizations in Pakistan continue working round the clock, in coordination with the Government, in order to deliver life-saving assistance to millions of flood victims. Donors have significantly stepped up their contributions over the last few days.

"Watching this disaster unfold, the world increasingly understands its immense magnitude", said John Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. "I am glad that we now see a more positive response to the calls of the Secretary-General and the humanitarian community for increased and faster funding", he added, referring to the visit by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to Pakistan last Sunday. Mr. Ban had stated that "these unprecedented floods demand unprecedented assistance".

Out of the US$ 459.7 million requested by the United Nations and its partners to implement the relief activities envisaged in the Pakistan Initial Floods Emergency Response Plan (PIFERP), $ 227.8 million has so far been received, representing 49.6% of requirements. Pledges for a further $ 42.1 million have also been made, which should in due course increase the figure to 58.7%.

"We thank donors for their generosity, and ask them to keep up this accelerated pace of donations. The road ahead remains long. We should all also be ready for any increase in requirements," warned Mr. Holmes.

Meanwhile the floods are not over. "The Indus River is at 40 times its normal volume", said Karen Allen of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Pakistan's capital Islamabad. "Whole cities, of up to 250,000 people, have been evacuated, and people have lost everything".

The United Nations and its partners have so far delivered food to nearly 800,000 people, have enabled at least 1.4 million to have access to clean water, and have provided shelter to nearly one million. Medical stocks covering the potential health needs of 1.8 million people have also been provided.

"Unfortunately, this is only a fraction of what we need to do", said Martin Mogwanja, Humanitarian Coordinator in the country. "More relief supplies are in the pipeline, and we are reaching more and more women, men and children every day. Tents, food, water purification tablets, are being procured as we speak".

"We need 50 million water purification tablets for the coming ten days", said Syed Jamal Shah, Coordinator for the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) cluster, "and so far we have only been able to buy three million of these". Lack of clean water is currently one of the major concerns, as millions of people are at risk of contracting waterborne diseases.

According to Government estimates, Pakistan's floods have so far affected 15.4 million people. At least six million people, and possibly up to eight million, are in urgent need of life-saving assistance.

For further information, please call: OCHA Islamabad: Maurizio Giuliano, +92 300 8502690, giuliano@un.org; Stacey Winston, +92 300 8502397, winston@un.org, OCHA New York: 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