Britain promises more lifesaving aid

SUKKUR: British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg while visiting Sukkur on Wednesday announced more lifesaving aid from the UK for Pakistan’s flood victims.

The deputy prime minister is in Pakistan to assess the devastation caused by the floods, ahead of attending the Millennium Development Goals summit in New York in a few weeks.

“Today I can confirm that the UK will push out more emergency aid over the coming days in what is now the worst affected area of Pakistan, including safe drinking water, toilets, emergency shelter, water pumps, and other lifesaving items,” he said.

While in Sukkur, Clegg visited a World Food Programme store house and met with Oxfam, Save the Children, and other UN and aid agencies.

The UK government will allocate £9 million to Save the Children, Concern and Oxfam so they can distribute the aid items announced on Wednesday. The money comes from the £33 million announced by Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell at the UN in New York on August 19, 2010.

Clegg reiterated that a month later, the disaster was continually getting worse. “The coming days and weeks are critical; millions of people in Punjab and Sindh have lost their homes and are facing hunger and illness unless they get vital help right now.”

He said that the aid directed towards Punjab and Sindh would include 2,330 water pumps, 1,150 private bathing facilities, emergency shelter kits for around 30,500 families, hygiene kits for around 75,000 families, 650 newborn baby kits and spades, picks and wheelbarrows to help 16,000 families remove debris from their homes.

Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari called upon Britain on Wednesday to send a team of experts to see what improvements can be made in the Sukkur Barrage.

The president said that the Sukkur Barrage was built by British experts in 1932 which is why they are better placed to give advice on what improvements can be made to it. President Zardari said this while talking to the British deputy prime minister who called on him in Sukkur.

The meeting was also attended by the British deputy prime minister’s aides and Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and Secretary to the president Asif Hayat, among others.

Talking to Clegg, President Zardari thanked the UK for the flood relief worth £64 million. The British deputy prime minister condoled with the president over the loss of human life due to the floods.

Clegg said that Britain will continue to lend support to Pakistan to help meet the enormous challenge it was faced with. He said that Britain was keen to work on a long term partnership basis with the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 2^nd, 2010.