Brussels, 01/08/2011 (Agence Europe) - Already one year has passed since deathly flooding swept through Pakistan in July 2010. On this anniversary of an unprecedented natural disaster, the European Commission, which wants to draw attention to what has been described as a “forgotten crisis”, points out that the EU is still helping the stricken populations who are still suffering, and is concerned at the approaching monsoon season. This is reason enough for Kristalina Georgieva, Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, to sound the alert.
“Millions of Pakistanis had been victims of consecutive tragedies - they had lost everything in the conflict that has been raging in their home regions, and then had lost everything again in the floods. By commemorating this sad anniversary, we take stock of the work we have done together with our humanitarian partners but, equally importantly, we hope to bring fresh international attention to the humanitarian challenges in Pakistan. This is the only way to help the country raise its resilience to withstand and cope with future emergencies. If flooding resumes, millions of people may not be able to cope with the risk to their lives and subsistence”, the commissioner warned in a press release published on Monday 1 August.
The humanitarian aid community is concerned at the low levels of resilience of the people worst hit by the floods of 2010, who were already living in poverty and war-torn areas. This is why the European Commission is following the situation closely, particularly in the regions at the greatest risk of further flooding, and is ready to help again if the monsoon season turns out to be more destructive than last year's.
In 2010, the European Commission made €150 million available in humanitarian aid, with an extra €76 million pledged to continue to cover the most urgent needs of the populations (shelter, drinking water, sanitation, aid to recover their means of earning a living and healthcare) in the affected regions.
Today, EU humanitarian aid focuses on support to Afghan refugees living in Pakistan (around 1.7 million people) via the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, aid to populations affected by conflicts and internally displaced persons (1.4 million inhabitants) and people returning home (1.95 million people), aid to the populations affected by the flooding (some of whom are displaced persons, people returning home and Afghan refugees). (A.N./transl.fl)