2.5mn flood victims need safe drinking water: UN

Talking to APP on Saturday, an official of Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Humaira Mehboob said that food is needed for 2.75 million people, while 2.96 million people are in urgent need of medical care.

She said at least 1.75 million people require emergency shelter in flood affected area.

The floods washed away entire communities and have left more than five million people struggling to survive without adequate food, water, health care and shelter, she said.

To a question, she said the floods have taken the lives of 415 people, displaced 1.8 million people and destroyed or damaged over a million homes.

Humaira Mahoob said according to the government of Pakistan, 2.16 million acres of crops have also been wiped out.

To another question, she said the UN and its humanitarian partners to date have provided emergency shelter to 314,500 households.

More than 1.6 million people have received medicines and medical consultations, and more than 413,000 people received food aid.

Safe drinking water has been delivered to approximately 200,000 people and the UN aims to double this and provide up to 400,000 people with access to safe drinking water in the coming weeks, she added.

She said flood victim families are worried that their children will go hungry, and without access to safe drinking water, they fear they will become sick by drinking contaminated water.

The United Nations launched the Pakistan Floods 2011 Rapid Response Plan, which seeks to enable the United Nations and its humanitarian partners to support the Government in addressing emergency needs for up to 5.4 million people for six months.

The Plan is currently only 6 per cent funded, with US$19 million of the US$357 million required.

She said UN agencies are grateful that donors have started to give to the Rapid Response Plan.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011