Pakistan - Relief goods have started to arrive in the provinces worst affected by this year’s monsoon rains in Pakistan, but contingency stocks are running out, IOM warned today.

The Organization has already distributed 1,000 tents in Punjab’s Rajanpur and Dera Ghazi districts, and a further 22,500 shelter and non-food kits are on the way to Jacobabad, Kashmore and Shikarpur in Sindh and Jaffarabad in Balochistan. The kits will include plastic sheeting, bamboo poles, ropes, solar lamps, blankets, sleeping mats and kitchen sets.

Analysis of satellite imagery shows that an estimated 2.8 million people have been affected by the recent flooding. The government has registered 422 deaths and 1.7 million acres of land affected in more than 15,000 villages. Over 270,000 houses have been damaged by the floods, with Sindh worst hit (235,831 houses damaged or destroyed), followed by Punjab (25,556) and Balochistan (8,627).

An Initial Rapid Assessment has been concluded in five districts with results currently being reviewed by the UN and the government. Preliminary findings indicate that shelter needs are acute in the affected areas, with a quarter of the affected population lacking any kind of shelter support. A further 19 per cent of those affected are in makeshift shelters, meaning that close to 100,000 households are in need of immediate aid.

Humanitarian partners are supporting relief activities by distributing shelter items from their contingency stocks, but additional funds are required. Less than 19 per cent of the needs identified by the National Disaster Management Authority have been met.

IOM’s Maria Moita, who coordinates the interagency emergency shelter cluster notes: “Cluster members are reporting funding challenges as the major impediment to relief activities. Contingency stocks are running out and organizations need additional resources to continue their assistance to the flood affected population.”

As the shelter cluster lead, IOM will also shortly deploy its displacement tracking matrix to start gathering information on displaced populations in temporary settlements. It will also start providing camp coordination and camp management training for emergency workers in Sindh.

For more information please contact

Pakistan Emergency Stabilization Support Unit
IOM Pakistan
Email pessu@iom.int