More than £13 million has been donated to UK charities in just two days to help people in flood-stricken Pakistan.
The Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) appeal to help those affected by the large-scale flooding in Pakistan has raised £13.5 million after launching on Thursday.
The total includes £5 million matched pound-for-pound by the UK Government through the aid match scheme.
We are asking the public to be as generous as they can to get help to as many people as possible— Madara Hettiarachchi
The appeal aims to help some of the 33 million people affected by the devastating floods in Pakistan which have submerged one third of the country.
DEC charities are working to provide food, clean water and emergency shelter as well as healthcare, essential hygiene supplies and sanitation.
Eleven of the DEC’s member charities are responding to the disaster and are warning that the immediate crisis is far from over, particularly in the south of the country.
Getting food to people is a particular concern after food supplies were damaged or lost, crops destroyed and livestock killed.
DEC director of programmes and accountability, Madara Hettiarachchi, said: “The floods are continuing to rage across Pakistan with hospitals having been badly damaged and access to healthcare becoming increasingly limited.
“People are struggling to get access to food and medical supplies, and there is a high risk of disease outbreaks.
“We are fearful of what is to come, and in the next few days we must do all we can to reach the most isolated communities that have been cut off.
“We are asking the public to be as generous as they can to get help to as many people as possible.”
Jennifer Ankrom-Khan, country director for Action Against Hunger in Pakistan, said: “The situation is shocking and the figures are far worse than are even being reported in the media right now.
“Rivers are still flowing and particularly in Sindh, the majority of the province is underwater.
“With no income, no one is able to feed themselves. Crops and food stores have been destroyed, electricity and communication is down.
“People are malnourished, weak and hungry. Pakistan is a country where a third of the population is food insecure and levels of acute malnutrition which are far above what we could consider the ‘normal’, even for an emergency.
“Hundreds of thousands require instant feeding to prevent death, and one in two children are not developing properly because of chronic malnutrition.”
The DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid charities at times of crisis overseas to raise funds quickly and efficiently.
The 11 members responding so far are Action Against Hunger, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Concern Worldwide UK, International Rescue Committee UK, Islamic Relief, Oxfam GB, Save the Children UK and Tearfund.
