UN REPORTS IMPROVEMENTS IN FLOOD-HIT PAKISTAN BUT WARNS CHALLENGES REMAIN

UN REPORTS IMPROVEMENTS IN FLOOD-HIT PAKISTAN BUT WARNS CHALLENGES REMAIN
New York, Jul 10 2007 9:00AM
The United Nations refugee agency, which has shipped thousands of relief supplies to areas in Pakistan devastated by floods in late June, today reported that conditions are improving there but serious challenges remain.

"As the water subsides, life is slowly returning to normal in the camps and families are starting to rebuild their mud houses," said Jennifer Pagonis, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

"But access to these areas is still difficult as the roads have been washed away," she told reporters in Geneva.

The agency and its partners are stepping up relief efforts in the flood-affected refugee-hosting areas of Pakistan as the waters start to recede, and expect that by the end of the week it will have transported more than 250 tonnes of emergency supplies from stocks in Peshawar to Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province.

Aid distribution started on 2 July in Balochistan's Chagai district, where heavy rains destroyed houses and compound walls in three refugee camps. "Tents, plastic sheets, sleeping mats, quilts and kitchen sets were provided to the affected Afghans and their Pakistani host community," Ms. Pagonis said. In all, 1,600 tents, over 3,000 plastic sheets, 5,000 sleeping mats and 3,000 jerry cans are being distributed in Balochistan, benefiting Afghans and Pakistanis alike.

As part of shelter and camp management clusters under the joint UN response, UNHCR is requesting over $622,000 through the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to replenish and procure shelter items such as plastic sheets, sleeping mats and blankets for 150,000 flood victims especially in Pakistan's refugee-hosting areas.

The efforts by UNHCR build on those of other agencies which have been assisting Pakistan, where the authorities estimate that over 200 people were killed in the disaster.

2007-07-10 00:00:00.000

___________________

For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
To listen to news and in-depth programmes from UN Radio go to: http://radio.un.org/

_______________________________

To change your profile or unsubscribe go to:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/email/