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| [Photo: WFP] |
Dubai: A one-month food
ration is being distributed to some 10,000 families in Jacobabad district of
Sindh, where some areas are under 2.5 metres (8 feet) of water, drawing upon
limited available stocks of food. WFP plans to reach a further 10,000 families
in Balochistan later this week.
With road access
limited due to the flood waters, WFP has deployed 16 motorboats to reach some
of the worst affected communities.
However, any
assistance beyond this first phase will require additional funding from donors
and WFP is seeking urgent donations of US$15 million.
“We could scale up our
response to reach up to 250,000 families – that’s 1.7 million people,” said WFP
Pakistan Country director Jean-Luc Siblot. “But that would mean using food
stocks earmarked for relief to the displaced population in the northwest of the
country and these would have to be replenished by December – that means funding
is needed now.”
The WFP food basket
consists of dietary staples of fortified wheat flour, pulses, vegetable oil and
iodized salt, as well as High Energy Biscuits and specialized ready-to-use
supplementary food for small children.
Pakistan’s National
Disaster Management Authority has estimated that up to 4.5 million people have
been affected by severe flooding in Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab, following
heavy rains earlier this month.
However, not all of these may require food
assistance. A Multi-sector Initial Rapid Assessment has been carried out in the
affected areas and the results, expected shortly, will give a clearer
indication of the needs of those affected.
The disaster has
already caused the deaths of up to 400 people, destroyed houses and hundreds of
thousands of acres of crops.
Many of the districts
affected, particularly in Sindh and Balochistan, were already struggling to
recover from the floods of 2010 and 2011, with communities particularly
vulnerable to the effects of this latest shock.