ISLAMABAD: The International Rescue Committee (IRC) being the first among other international organizations, who had launched an emergency response in early July, has so far supported over 300,000 individuals and aims to assist some 1.5 million people in flood-affected districts of Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.
According to an IRC and its partners carried out Early Needs Identification (ENI) assessment, immediate reported needs by communities are of cash assistance, food items, protection and health services.
As the nationally coordinated efforts for the provision of relief and subsequent rehabilitation of flood-hit people have been accelerated at all levels, there still needs much to protect flood victims from water-borne diseases and ensure their rehabilitation.
“Currently, IRC is directing its efforts in 16 districts of Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. The ambit of our protection services is further supplemented by the provision of integrated services of multipurpose cash support and psychosocial support sessions to individuals, families and communities,” said Shabnam Baloch, Country Director, International Rescue Committee, Pakistan, while sharing details of the IRC’s ongoing and future programming for displaced people.
She said that the IRC response had so far supported nearly 300,000 individuals and emphasized that displaced families, particularly women and girls remain a priority along with groups that have been economically and socially marginalized.
Assessments by the UN indicate that Pakistan could see as many as 2.7 million malaria cases in the 32 worst-hit districts by January 2023, and 5.74 million more people are at risk from famine.
The IRC Country Director observed though the flood water levels were receding, the woes of those affected were compounding. “Therefore, responding to this colossal calamity is a collective responsibility and we need to step up our combined efforts.”
Shabnam Baloch said that IRC was supporting communities with food rations, household items and dignity kits. In addition to this, in the intervention districts, IRC is establishing medical camps and safe spaces and arranging psychosocial support sessions along with the provision of safe drinking water and sanitation facilities.
The IRC emergency response program was now being scaled up through a multilateral donors base. On ground, activities were being supported by 9 local partner organizations, she highlighted.
Nearly 33 million people in Pakistan have been affected by catastrophic floods, the loss of human life has risen to 1,700 people, hundreds of thousands of homes have been damaged, over a million of livestock has perished and millions of acres of crops are ruined.
Pakistan is one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries. Today, there is no better example of a nation bearing the brunt of the effects of climate change as the floods at one point submerged one-third of the country. However, Pakistan bears little responsibility for the growing climate crisis. Although Pakistan is the world’s 5th most populous nation, the country is responsible for just 0.6 % of global carbon emissions. Thus, there is a need to initiate dialogues and discussions both nationally and globally on the discourse of climate change.
