Roti, kapra, makan: Red Crescent prepares winter plan for flood survivors

Many people have to leave their homes for a second consecutive year, says Sherry Rehman.

The Pakistan Red Crescent Society has announced a winterised relief plan for over 0.5 million Sindh flood survivors so that they get food, blankets, healthcare and clean drinking water.

The was announced by PRCS Chairperson Sherry Rehman who visited some of these areas here on Saturday, according to a press release.

The aim of her visit was to get first-hand information about the plight of the people, especially during the winter and help gear up efforts to provide maximum help.

Rehman said that despite the work done so far to help the people, thousands of them are still living in temporary shelters and it’s high time to make a combined effort to rehabilitate them in the shortest possible time.

She said that families are still living in temporary shelters, hemmed in by floodwater that have turned into breeding grounds for water-borne diseases. She appealed to the international community to come forward to help the victims of another year’s flood that is worse than last year’s as many people have been forced abandon their homes for the second consecutive year and a slow international response has put thousands of lives at risk.

There are 38 PRCS teams working on the ground along with six National Disaster Response Trained teams and one Regional Disaster Response Trained Team. Over 200 PRCS-trained volunteers are also supporting them.

The PRCS has so far reached 33,356 families or 233,492 individuals with 9,222 tents, 5,130 stoves, 7,853 blankets, 6,428 hygiene kits, 7,906 tarpaulin sheets, 5,932 kitchen sets, 2,600 sleeping mats, 3,935 jerry cans, 8,021 mosquito nets, 1,940 insect repellents, 846 shawls.

Eleven Mobile Health Units and Two BHUs are active in the affected areas and have so far treated 66,300 patients in 10 districts. The major conditions being treated are skin disorders, acute respiratory tract infections, diarrhea and acute gastroenteritis. Dengue and malaria have been noted to be on the rise.

The PRCS has also set up 15 water treatment plants for clean drinking water initially in the affected districts of Badin (4 units), Mirpurkhas (2 units), Benazirabad (4 units), Khairpur (1 unit) and Sanghar (4 units). The plants are being run by 15 water and sanitation (WATSAN) teams deployed by PRCS. These plants are producing about 367,000 litres daily.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 13^th, 2011.