General News: Update on FOCUS and AKDN response to Pakistan Floods

Focus Humanitarian Assistance (FOCUS) Pakistan has been actively involved in response and relief efforts following continued rains and massive floods affecting various parts of the country. A report released by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) stated that more than 1.2 million homes have been lost or destroyed due to the various rain related hazards including landslides, mudflows, floods and structural collapse.

The transportation of food and relief items continues to pose a challenge, due to road inaccessibility, poor weather conditions, and a shortage of government planes to transport relief items by air. The blockade of the Karakoram highway has made access to the mountainous regions of Gilgit Baltistan and Chitral difficult, which is home to approximately 2 million people. FOCUS has implemented contingency plans to transport relief goods via ground identifying alternative road routes. Thirty tonnes of food was transported via trucks to the town of Chitral, which is one of the primary drop-off points for food distribution to remote areas. Additionally, FOCUS is transporting 200 tonnes of food in collaboration with the NDMA. FOCUS has procured food packages for over 15,300 beneficiaries.

In partnership with various AKDN agencies, access to health care, clean drinking water and sanitation facilities is being provided to displaced people who are in dire need of these efforts. Aga Khan Health Services is providing much-needed health care to displaced individuals in camps in Hyderabad and Karachi as well as conducting health awareness sessions throughout the camps. Aga Khan University has organised teams of doctors and nurses to travel across the country to provide healthcare, with an emphasis on mothers and children. Additionally, 50 multidisciplinary teams have been deployed to priority areas as declared by the UN and provincial agencies.

Aga Khan Planning and Building Services is making provisions to supply clean drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities in camps, as well as working to restore water supply systems in parts of Ghizer where access to clean drinking water is a concern. Over 20,000 water purification tablets have been provided to villages where clean drinking water supplies are severely depleted.

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