United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has dispatched 8,000 tents to ensure shelter for rain affected people of Sindh. More than 2,000 tents and 2,000 kits containing jerry cans, blankets and sleeping mats as well as 4,000 plastic sheets has so far been distributed among the victims, a spokesperson of UNHCR, Qaisar Khan Afridi told newsmen here on Wednesday.
He said teams were distributing tents and other emergency aid to families displaced by severe flooding, adding that many of the families, displaced by the floods continue to live in makeshift shelters. He said the distribution of emergency supplies had so far been focused on southern most districts of Badin and Thatta with 1,000 tents, 1,000 non-food kits and 2,000 plastic sheets for each location.
Afridi said the journey could take several days. The supplies are headed to the districts of Sanghar, Mirpurkhas, Tando Allah Yar and Tando Muhammad Khan in Sindh. UNHCR field staff described those areas as being under water, he added. In Badin and Thatta, UNHCR has been working with its partner agency the National Rural Support Programme (NRSP), a Pakistani aid group, which was delivering the items and establishing small tent villages of less than 100 families, he said.
He said the scarcity of dry land on which to pitch the tents remained a challenge. Affected families have said they prefer to stay near their livestock. He said on behalf of the Protection Thematic Working Group, UNHCR has recently led a rapid protection assessment in Sindh, and added focus group discussions were conducted with nearly 6,000 women, men, girls and boys, as well with community leaders and local authorities.
To a question, he said, a similar assessment would start this week in Balochistan. The assessment report for Sindh reveals difficulties in accessing assistance faced by vulnerable groups such as female-headed households, disabled persons and minorities.
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