UNHCR enhances relief operation

HYDERABAD: The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, has scaled up its operation in the southern part of Sindh province where thousands of tents and other supplies were distributed in the areas hard hit by rains and flood in districts of Badin, Thatta, Mirpurkhas and Sanghar.

According to UNHCR spokesman Qaisar Khan Afridi, the agency was leading the humanitarian community's effort of supporting the government in ensuring that the most vulnerable members of flood-affected communities were protected. Help would continue through the rehabilitation period, he added.

Afridi informed that the UNHCR has so far distributed over 3,500 tents, 5,000 plastic sheets, which can be used as rudimentary shelters and 3,500 household kits which include jerry cans, plastic buckets, mosquito nets; kitchen sets, sleeping mats, quilts, blankets and soaps in the flood affected districts in southern Sindh.

"The items are handed over to the National Rural Support Programme (NRSP), which has been setting up small tent villages in some of the hardest hit areas such as Badin and Thatta," Qaiser Afridi told APP.

He said that the distribution of tents and non-food assistance had also been started a few days back in Umerkot district.

Separately, 2000 tents, 2000 NFIs and 4000 plastic sheets are being distributed in Sanghar district and 2000 tents, 2000 NFIs and 4000 plastic sheets in Mirpurkhas district, he added.

"We are supplying similar number of relief items to Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan and Benazirabad districts," he said.

According to the UNHCR spokesman, the agency had sought US$ 33.2 million assistance from donors in order to allow it to assist the victims.

The UNHCR, said Afridi, aims to provide 75,000 tents and 75,000 kits of household relief items and thousands of plastic sheets to the flood affected persons through that amount."

The supplies will benefit an estimated 525,000 people," he expects.

The assistance will be targeted at the districts of Badin, Tando Muhammad Khan, Mirpurkhas, Benazirabad, Dadu, Tando Allahyar, Sanghar and Thatta in Sindh.

Afridi, observed that the situation on ground was very complex as people were in dire need of emergency shelter, food, clean drinking water, health facilities and livestock support.

He also highlighted the problem of accessibility in marooned areas and in those places where the road networks had come under water.

"Another problem is unavailability of dry land for the establishment of big tent cities for the flood affected people. UNHCR intends to build tent cities so that basic facilities like food, health, sanitation and shelters could be provided," he said.

Afridi also pointed out difficulties in providing relief facilities to the scattered population.

"However, despite these challenges, UNHCR has identified places where small tentsites close to the homes of the affected population could be established," he said.

According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) nearly 9 million people have been affected by the recent floods in Sindh, with another 14,000 flood victims in the province of Balochistan.