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Pakistan
earthquake: Red Cross Red Crescent warns thousands of quake survivors
may die of exposure 26 October 2005 Thousands of earthquake survivors in Pakistan may die unless the most vulnerable receive sufficient help through the winter, says the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The stark warning comes as the International Federation calls for immediate, long-term and unearmarked cash contributions to allow a flexible and effective response to assist survivors of the devastating 8 October earthquake which ravaged the northern regions of Pakistan and India. Today a revised Federation appeal called for 152 million Swiss francs (USD 117 million or EUR 98 million) to support the ongoing relief operation of the Pakistan Red Crescent Society in the worst hit quake areas, particularly in the remote, mountainous areas of North Western Frontier Province. To date, 42 million Swiss francs have been received and 35 million Swiss francs have been pledged, which illustrates that the generosity of the global community continues. However further funds are still urgently required for the relief programme to be sustainable and long term explains Juan Manuel Suárez del Toro, President of the International Federation. “It is clear this is a major humanitarian disaster that requires the international community to scale up its already significant and timely response,” Suárez del Toro said. Winterised tents are the highest priority. Without them many vulnerable people may die this winter. Other critical items include blankets, mattresses, stoves and hygiene articles The Federation appeal aims to meet the immediate shelter and relief needs of some 570,000 people. To date more than 200 truckloads of Red Cross and Red Crescent relief items have reached affected areas and approximately 9,000 tents, as well as, nearly 40,000 blankets have been distributed. In addition some 40 aid flights carrying 1,600 tonnes of relief goods, medical supplies and emergency response equipment, such as basic health care units and water and sanitation facilities, have been deployed. Hundreds of Pakistan Red Crescent staff and volunteers, active since the onset of the disaster on 8 October, have worked tirelessly to continue to provide first aid, medical evacuation as well as relief distributions. Their ten mobile medical teams alone have treated more than 16,000 people so far. However not everyone who needs aid has yet been reached. “Our efforts are hampered by poor weather, landslides blocking roads, as well as the terrain which is mountainous and difficult to access. We continue to direct aid where it is needed most using helicopters, trucks and mules as well as by foot,” added Suárez del Toro. The Federation President, who is visiting Pakistan on 26 October to witness first hand the relief effort and to pay tribute to the Pakistan Red Crescent staff and volunteers for their work, is concerned the world has not yet grasped the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe, which has so far claimed the lives of at least 54,400 and rendered up to three million people homeless. As winter approaches in Pakistan, where temperatures in the disaster region can plummet to minus twenty degrees Celsius, the humanitarian community is in a race against time to avoid further deaths resulting from exposure to the elements or lack of medical attention. For further information, or to set up interviews, please contact: Ian Woolverton, Information Delegate, Pakistan Tel: + 61 418 526850 / + 92 301 532 8705 Marie-Françoise Borel, Information Officer, Geneva Tel: + 41 79 217 33 45 / + 41 79 416 38 81 The Geneva-based International Federation promotes the humanitarian activities of 181 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies among vulnerable people. By coordinating international disaster relief and encouraging development support, it seeks to prevent and alleviate human suffering. The Federation, National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross together, constitute the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. © International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies |
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