Vital emergency relief supplies for some 5.4 million flood victims in Pakistan are in danger of running out in weeks due to the international community’s lukewarm response to the U.N.’s appeal for the crisis. This is even as the need continues to increase, the global body warned.
According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs, humanitarian agencies are running out of resources to provide emergency assistance to Pakistan’s flood victims. Food stocks, for instance, are good for only a month, while safe drinking water and emergency shelter materials will last only weeks.
But donor response to the $357 million appeal the United Nations issued to address the immediate needs of those affected for at least six months has been sluggish, with only $19 million raised so far.
>> Situation in Pakistan Turning Desperate Amid Sluggish Donor Response, Aid Agencies Say
This makes relief supplies in danger of not being replenished. UNICEF, for instance, said its water trucking program alone costs $600,000 per month. The agency said it cannot purchase additional relief supplies for health, nutrition and water for displaced children and women without additional funds.
“We are grateful that donors have started to give to the rapid response plan. But to ensure that we can help save lives now as well as tomorrow, we call on the international community to urgently step up their support for the people of Pakistan through this plan,” said Timo Pakkala, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Pakistan.
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