Devastating floods in Pakistan | Development and Peace

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The situation

Beginning in late July, heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan have causing the worst flooding the country has ever experienced. The floods have displaced thousands of people, destroyed houses, hospitals and schools, and have washed out roads and bridges. According to the Government of Pakistan, 13.8 million people have been affected in all five provinces of the country and 1,600 have died.Flood-ravaged communities are faced with food shortages, undrinkable water, destroyed crops, and lack of shelter. Many people have also suffered injuries or have become ill due to the unsanitary conditions.Several communities have been cut-off by high waters and collapsed infrastructure, which is hampering the emergency response. Communications are also very difficult as telephone and electrical poles have come down.“There are so many people who are in grave difficulty. It’s such a traumatic situation for those who have lost everything and who have to rely on others even for a drink of water,” says Anila Gill, national executive secretary of Caritas Pakistan.As the monsoon season has progressed, the situation has become increasingly critical and could still worsen as rains continue. The full extent of the damage is still unknown, however, the United Nations estimates that billions of dollars will be needed in order to restore livelihoods and rebuild infrastructure in the country.

Our response

Development and Peace is contributing to the appeal launched by Caritas Internationalis to help affected communities in Pakistan. The appeal is to support the emergency response being organized by Caritas Pakistan and other Caritas partners present in the country.

Caritas Pakistan has been in existence for more than 50 years and has solid experience responding in times of disasters. It was involved in relief and reconstruction work after the devastating earthquake in Pakistan in 2005.

It has close ties with several communities and was able to mobilize quickly as the floods worsened. It has already provided water, food, cooking utensils, health and hygiene kits, mosquito nets and water purification tablets to over 4,000 households around Peshawar and in the provinces of Punjab and Balochistan.

The Caritas network is now putting in place a three-moth project that aims to bring aid to 250,000 people in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Punjab. The program will focus on the following:

The distribution of food and water;
Providing shelter and hygiene facilities;
Rebuilding infrastructure, such as roads, bridges and irrigation channels;
Providing health services, including emergency medical treatment and vaccinations against water-borne diseases; and
The protection of women and children.

The Caritas network will continue to expand its response over the coming weeks to provide aid effectively for what is turning into a large-scale disaster that will have a long-term impact on the population.

Development and Peace has been responding to natural catastrophes and complex emergencies in Pakistan for many years, including a $2.3 million emergency and reconstruction program after a massive earthquake in 2005 and, most recently, in 2009 when over 2 million people were displaced by conflict in the North of the country.

Furthermore, since 2008, Development and Peace has been supporting an ongoing development program in the country that focuses on the empowerment of women and inter-religious dialogue. Two of its partners include the Afghan Women’s Resource Centre (AWRC) and the National Commission for Inter-religious Dialogue and Ecumenism (NCIDE), which both work in communities in Pakistan that are hosting Afghan refugees. The AWRC’s projects aim to improve the socioeconomic conditions of women, whereas the NCIDE focuses on interfaith dialogue and peacebuilding. In light of the devastating floods that have hit their region, both of these Development and Peace partners will be offering emergency aid to their communities.

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