Aid Supplies Facing Tough Time Getting Through in Pakistan

Getting aid to millions of people in need of assistance in Pakistan, is proving a significant challenge for aid workers.
Aid Supplies Facing Tough Time Getting Through in Pakistan
8/17/2010
Updated:
8/17/2010
Getting aid to millions of people in need of assistance in Pakistan, is proving a significant challenge for aid workers with infrastructure destroyed by floods, and in some cases supply trucks having been looted.

In many places, where roads and bridges collapsed during the floods, aid has not yet made it through since airdrops are the only option. Even when aid reaches its destination, food supplies have been uneven.

“Trucks are being forced to take long detours to reach many distribution sites, causing delays and longer turnaround times before they can be loaded with further food supplies. Helicopters are the only viable means to reach many areas which have been cut off,” according to a U.N. news release.

The U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has reported cases of aid supplies being looted while trucks were stopped on their way to the distribution points in Muzaffargarh, in one of the hardest hit regions the Punjab Province.

Evacuation operations have turned into chaos, separating family members from each other and putting them at a disadvantage, reported Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), a humanitarian news service under the U.N.

Shahid Muhammad, 12, and his younger brother, staying at a relief camp near the southern Punjab city of Multan, were separated from their parents and two sisters three days ago, the IRIN said.

“We were loaded into a truck along with many others. The rest of our family ended up in another vehicle. We don’t know where they are,” said Shahid. Some adults from his village were helping them.

“When food is distributed the strongest young men grab it for their own families and push us children aside,” Shahid added.

The heavy flooding that started at end of July has caused an estimated 1,500 deaths and has affected nearly 40 million people.

So far, about 6 million are in great need of aid, according to the U.N., yet relief operations are experiencing funding shortfalls with 36 percent of the U.N.’s requested $460 million.

“Millions of Pakistanis are suffering from this disaster and they need international solidarity,” said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, U.N. Population Fund’s executive director, in a statement on Aug. 17.

“Women have special needs because they continue to give birth, regardless of the dangers surrounding them, and require timely medical care to ensure a safe delivery,” she said.

The U.N. Children’s Fund stressed concerns that if clean water is not provided in time, waterborne diseases such as cholera, diarrhea and dysentery would spread and began killing affected population, especially children.