Floods in Pakistan: Welthungerhilfe extends aid to the Punjab

Floods destroyed the harvest in Punjab, the
granary of Pakistan. © reuters/Andrees Latif (17.08.2010) The wave of flooding in Pakistan has moved southwards over the last few days, ravaging the Punjab region. Welthungerhilfe and its Alliance2015 partner, CESVI, have decided to extend their aid southwards. "In Punjab alone five million people are affected by the flooding and urgently require assistance. This is where the need is greatest at the moment", reports emergency relief aid expert, Jürgen Mika, from the crisis area in Pakistan.

Before the floods this district was the granary of Pakistan. After a good wheat harvest in April the farmers were even hopeful that they would be able to export some of their surpluses. "These hopes have now been dashed. The small farmers alone have lost about 500,000 tonnes of wheat to the floodwaters" recounts Jürgen Mika. The rice and cotton harvests have also been destroyed. This will have disastrous consequences for the regional economy and will permanently plunge people even deeper into poverty if they do not get long-term help.

Tarpaulins, blankets and sanitary articles are amongst the items being distributed in Punjab, as has already happened in the other regions. Welthungerhilfe and its partners have already got aid through to over 40,000 people over the last few days.

Bärbel Dieckmann, Welthungerhilfe's Chairperson, makes the following appeal: "People's willingness to make donations has increased noticeably in the last few days, and we're very grateful for that. Millions of people are still reliant on assistance, and in order to be able to purchase even more aid goods we are continuing to appeal urgently for funds".