Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal along with the representatives of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Pakistan Army briefed media personnel at the National Flood Response and Coordination Center, Islamabad regarding flood relief work today (Saturday), reports Radio Pakistan.
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Akhtar Nawaz said that the year 2022 showed the realities of climate change in Pakistan. “We saw four heatwaves that caused forest fires and monsoon rains began prematurely,” he said.
“We had predicted 25 percent more rainfall this year but it turned out to be 190 percent higher. We saw glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) as well,” he explained. Ahsan Iqbal, while talking to the media said, “Pakistan’s carbon emission is less than 1 per cent however, we are among the countries that are most vulnerable to the climatic disasters.
“The scale of the floods warrants a major humanitarian response for which the support of the international community has started pouring in and we are extremely grateful. However, the scale of devastation is massive and requires a large humanitarian response,” he remarked.
“The floods are a lesson for Pakistan as it proves that buildings should be constructed on waterways,” he added.
Pakistan is experiencing one of the worst floods of its history. In the last 24 hours, 57 more deaths have occurred which has taken the death toll to 1,265.
Hundreds of flood affectees in Rajanpur district, Punjab, are awaiting government aid as they continue to camp on roads to escape the devastation of high water levels in their villages and towns, reports Ilyas Gabol for Samaa News.
According to the affectees, no one from the government has reached out to them with relief packages.
“No one has come here to deliver relief package to us despite several claims by the government that aid is being disbursed among the needy persons,” a flood victim told Samaa.
Another woman said, “We are helplessly sitting on the side of the road fending for ourselves and cooking whatever is available.”
She requested the authorities to send help immediately.
’90 per cent of people still await assistance’: Faisal Edhi
Faisal Edhi of the Edhi Foundation said that the situation is critical and warned that it’s going to worsen.
He highlighted that people’s participation in relief work as compared to the 2010 floods and 2005 earthquake in Pakistan isn’t sufficient.
Edhi revealed that despite a great deal of effort made by the Edhi Foundation, government and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), help has reached 10 percent of people. “90 per cent of them still await assistance,” he observed.
“There are people who say that they don’t want to come to the streets with their children. They only ask for food. Water has entered their houses,” he said.
Moreover, he said he fears that international migration from Pakistan will begin as thirty to forty million people have been affected by the catastrophe.
In the last 24 hours, 57 more deaths have occurred which has taken the death toll to 1,265.
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari berated former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan for holding public rallies as the aftermath of severe flooding keeps on unfolding across the country.
“Pakistan is facing the biggest disaster in our history. One-third of our country is underwater! One-seventh of our citizens are affected, 35 million people. The former PM is holding concerts in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa & Punjab,” tweeted Bilawal, directing his anger towards Khan who addressed a public gathering in Gujrat, on September 2.
is facing biggest disaster in our history. 1/3 of our country underwater! 1/7 citizens affected, 35million ppl! ex PM is holding concerts in KP & Punjab. CMs busy organizing his events instead of helping flood victims. Shameful, pehaly insan bano, phir siyasatdan bano! pic.twitter.com/ra0oal8WrW
The chief ministers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are busy organising concerts of the former prime minister instead of helping flood victims, accused Bilawal.
Calling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) behaviour “shameful”, Bilawal said, “Pehaly insan bano, phir siyasatdan bano! [First, become a human being, then become a politician].”
Addressing a public rally in Gujrat, Khan warned the government against political victimisation of PTI activists. “If this continues, PTI will come to Islamabad, and there will be no place left for them to hide,” the former Premier said.
Khan has repeatedly said that the PTI’s movement for Haqeeqi Azadi will continue alongside its flood relief work. In his recent speeches, Khan has made it clear that his struggle against ‘thieves’ will continue whether come what may.
Pakistan is in the throes of devastating floods which have wreaked havoc across all four provinces. The scale of devastation has been estimated to be upwards of $10 billion.
The Central Command of the United States military will send a team to Pakistan which will assess the damages caused by the floods.
According to a press release issued by Centcom Communication Director Colonel Joe Buccino on September 2, General Michael contacted Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa by telephone and offered condolences over the loss of lives in historic floods across the country.
As per the statement, an assessment team will be travelling to Islamabad to assess what possible help the Department of Defence (DoD) may offer to USAID as part of the United States’ response to the flooding disaster in Pakistan.
USAID announced earlier this week that the US will provide $30 million in humanitarian assistance to Pakistan to deal with damage caused by devastating floods.
Heavy monsoon rains in the country have triggered massive floods that have submerged a third of the country and killed at least 1,208 people.
Approximately 116 districts across the four provinces have been affected. Infrastructure, including bridges, roads, schools, homes and hospitals. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 888 health facilities have been inundated with flood water
The devasting floods have killed at least 1,191 people in the country. Balochistan and Sindh are the most affected provinces of the country. Hundreds of thousands of people who were displaced by the floods since June are currently residing in camps or with host families.
As per an estimate, 8.2 million women in flood-affected areas are of reproductive age. Menstruating women in disaster-hit areas require access to safe and clean menstruation hygine products.
Many organisations are donating sanitary pads for women. However, a debate has been going around for days that whether sanitary pads should be donated or not. Some give the arguments that rural women do not use and do not know how to use sanitary pads, and donating them sanitary pads is a waste of already limited resources. While others give an argument that disposing of sanitary pads pollutes the environment.
“One study has suggested that there may be an increased risk of urogenital infections, such as yeast infection, vaginosis or urinary tract infections, when women and girls are not able to bathe and/or change or clean their menstrual supplies regularly,” a report published by the United Nations Population Fund reads.
Here is the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Guide to Menstrual Hygiene Materials:
Pads are arguably the most widely used period product the sanitary pad/napkin has been commercially available for more than a century. They are worn inside the user’s underwear and absorb menstrual blood through layers of absorbent material, often rayon, cotton, and plastic. Pad design has changed over the decades to become considerably more absorbent and pleasant, with a wide selection available to suit different flows.
Talking about the arguments going around regarding the negative consequences of using disposable pads environment Lawyer Ahmad Rafay Alam while talking to The Current about the issues said, “Women are as entitled to their dignity as men. Screaming plastic pollution at a time like this is disingenuous at best. We can work out plastic pollution issues soon. Let’s first deal with the millions of women who menstruate.”
Dr Alia Haider, who is working for the relief of flood victims in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), while talking to The Current said that women in flood-affected areas do not have access to sanitary pads or the clothes they would normally use, as all of their belongings were completely destroyed.
Talking about the need of donating sanitary pads in flood-affected areas Haider said, “It would be very unfair to give women medicines but not sanitary pads,” adding that sanitary pads are not a luxury but a basic human need.
However, she said that donating sanitary pads is not enough, a tutorial about how to use them should be sent along or people distributing them should go and teach the flood-affected women.
“When I was working in medical camps in those areas, women came to me and said they don’t need it because they don’t know how to use them, then I used to take a group of 10 to 15 women in a room and used to teach them how to use sanitary pads. I made sure that they know that these are disposable.
She continued by adding, “We can also find and coordinate with women from those communities and backgrounds who know how to use sanitary pads and they can teach their fellow community members” So we need to connect with them on a community level.”
“When I was in Rajanpur, Taunsa, a woman did not know how to use sanitary pads so a guy came to me and said do get it to them. I asked the guy if he knows someone who knows how to use sanitary pads, to which the boy replied that his wife knows how to use them. Then I asked him to bring his wife, she knew how to use it and she offered that she would teach women in that community how to use sanitary pads.”
“We can’t sit idle and say oh my God that this is not the need of the time. Not maintaining menstrual hygiene can lead to many issues including Urinary tract infection (UTI), fungal infection, and prolonged use of clothing cause menorrhagia (excessive bleeding). During my visit to flood-affected areas, almost 60 to 70 per cent of women were suffering from Menorrhagia and other infections.”
She said that she does not think there is any other option than sanitary pads because even if they are provided with clothes, they will not have the resources to wash them or reuse them. Sanitary pads are accessible and disposable so they are the best option available according to Dr Alia’s assessment.
Where can you donate?
Bushra Mahnoor, who is leading a campaign called “Mahwari Justice” along with her friend Anum, while talking to The Current said that they started the campaign when the floods hit Pakistan at the end of June.
Mahwari is an Urdu word for Menstruation and Mahwari Justice means justice for women who menstruate and who are in dire need of menstrual assistance.
Talking about why she felt compelled to start the campaign, Bushra said,” I was a kid when the 2010 foods hit Pakistan. A lot of areas near my hometown Attock were flooded. My parents would collect goods and would take them to relief camps.”
Once when she went along with her parents to a relief camp, she saw a girl who was a year or two older than her. The girl’s shirt and shalwar (trousers) were spotted with large blood stains.
“My mother approached the girl and gave her a shawl to cover herself and a piece of clothing to use [as a pad]. The young girl explained to my mother that her periods started in the relief camp and she had nothing to use as a sanitary cloth. The girl was using her dupatta to manage periods but it was barely doing the job.”
“When floods hit Pakistan this year, the image of that little girl flashed into my mind and I knew I had to do something,” said Mahnoor. She then contacted Anum and they both decided that they had to do something for the women in flood-affected areas.
“Women and their needs get neglected not only by the state but by relief campaigners as well.”
Mahnoor told The Current that Mahwari Justice is collecting sanitary napkins, cloth pads, cotton pads, underwear and sheets which they then donate to women in disaster-hit areas.
“There are many people who are saying that women in rural areas do not use sanitary pads. Why don’t they use sanitary pads? Because they do not have access to them and the critique is mostly coming from those who maybe have never used a cloth pad in their lives,” she stated.
Bushra comes from a lower-income background and for most of her life, she used a cloth pad. “Do you even realise, how uncomfortable and how unhygienic and how itchy the cloth pads are?” she wondered, adding: “I had to use cloth pads because we did not have the resources to buy sanitary napkins. It was difficult to afford sanitary napkins for six people every month.”
Mahoor further said that she agrees that sanitary pads have many problems too, but she does not understand why people think it is okay to preach about climate impact when an urgent crisis has hit the country.
“Pakistan is only contributing one per cent to the global carbon emission and women in rural areas do not make even a fraction of that one per cent.” She said she doesn’t understand why people are so worried about the waste that will be generated.
Anum Khalid, who started this campaign with Mahnoor while talking to The Current said, “If a flood victim is thirsty and you are giving them water in a plastic bottle, does that not harm the environment?”.
She continued by saying, “Bushra and I started this campaign to provide immediate relief to women or other menstruators from the issues they face from continuous bleeding.”
United Nations (UN)’s report on Guide to Menstrual Hygiene products suggests that consultation should be done on what products women are comfortable using because different materials and products are utilised for this purpose.
Anam said that they now send information about how to use sanitary pads along with their sanitary kits. They are also providing cloth pads for women in the areas where women ask for them because of their cultural preferences.
She continued by adding that our volunteers are teaching women in rural areas in their own language how to correctly use sanitary napkins.
She concluded by saying that the debate about whether something is a luxury or a basic need in times of crisis was tragic. “Our justice campaign, I believe, is helping to change the belief that sanitary pads are luxury,” she stressed.
Appeal for donations
Help us reach more flood-affected women and girls!
United Kingdom (UK) Member of Parliament (MP) Claudia Webbe has called on the international community to cancel Pakistan’s debt as the country’s inflation hits the highest level since 1973.
In a statement on Twitter, Webbe said, “Inflation in Pakistan is at an all-time high at 27 per cent! Pakistan’s international debt should be immediately cancelled – they should instead be given reparations for the climate crisis caused.”
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), Pakistan’s Consumer Price Index-based inflation (CPI) climbed by 27.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis in August 2022.
Inflation in Pakistan is at an all time high at 27%!
Pakistan’s international debt should be immediately cancelled – they should instead be given reparations for the climate crisis caused.
Prior to this statement, she repeatedly urged foreign countries to stand shoulder to shoulder in full solidarity with Pakistan and termed the silence from western countries a “moral crime”.
“We need a global climate tax so that the global rich can be made to pay for the climate damage they cause in the world,” she said.
Silence from Western Political leaders while Pakistan floods is a moral crime.
This is the time to stand shoulder to shoulder in full solidarity with Pakistan.
We need a global climate tax so that the global rich can be made pay for the climate damage they cause in the world.
She also blamed rich countries for the climate crisis and said that they should bear the cost, not Pakistan, as the country is responsible for 1 per cent of global emissions.
A tragedy is unfolding.
Pakistan is responsible for 1% of global emissions. It’s completely wrong that it has to bear the brunt of climate change.
The super rich caused the climate crisis. The super rich should bear the cost.
Water levels continued to rise on Friday as the overall death toll from the devastating floods has crossed 1,200.
On Thursday, the UK announced an additional £15 million of lifesaving support for flood victims in Pakistan.
More than 33 million people are affected — one in every seven Pakistanis — and reconstruction work will cost more than $10 billion.
United Nations (UN) chief Antonio Guterres called the floods a “climate catastrophe” and launched an appeal for $160 million in emergency funding. Meanwhile, western countries have also donated millions of dollars to Pakistan.
Federal Minister for Education Rana Tanveer Hussain has said on Thursday that the government has decided to provide relief to university students in flood-affected areas by waiving their fees and giving them scholarships.
In a tweet, he said that he held a meeting with the Chair Higher Education Commission (HEC) and decided to facilitate the university students in calamity-struck zones.
Under the relief package, the government would defer current/due university fee payments, devise a mechanism/possibility for a fee waiver and announce a special scholarship program (undergraduate and graduation) for students.
Tanveer stated that in these pressing times the government stands firm with the people and would do whatever it takes for rehabilitation of flood victims.
“Doing fund-raising, providing food and tents, and setting up medical camps and transitional schools is our top priority,” he added.
Held meeting with Chair HEC & decided following for students from flood affected areas: 1. Defer current/due university fee payments. 2. Devise mechanism/possibility for fee waiver. 3. Special Scholarship program (UG&Grad) for students from flood affectd areas.#FloodsInPakistanhttps://t.co/WAPeiliKgepic.twitter.com/PS8X2nZ9o8
In another tweet, the federal minister said that “Our Government under the able leadership of Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif is fully committed to provide maximum relief to our people suffering from flood calamity. In these pressing times, we stand firm with our people and will do whatever it takes for rehabilitation.”
Our Government under the able leadership of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif @CMShehbaz is fully committed to provide maximum relief to our people suffering from flood calamity. In these pressing times we stand firm with our people and will do whatever it takes for rehabilitation. https://t.co/VksU86wgYu
Earlier today, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif announced that he will not be taking a scheduled official trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to focus on relief and rescue operations. Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also cancelled his scheduled visit in late August to four European countries. Separately, the media wing of the armed forces, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) also announced that Defense Day celebrations will be postponed to express solidarity with flood victims.
Heavy monsoon rains in the country have triggered massive floods that have submerged a third of the country and killed at least 1,191 people. 27 more people died in the previous 24 hours on Thursday.
Approximately 116 districts across the four provinces have been affected. Infrastructure, including bridges, roads, schools, homes and hospitals. According to World Health Organisation (WHO), 888 health facilities have been inundated with flood water.
The International Development Committee (IDC) of the British Parliament has called the UK’s financial support for disastrous floods in Pakistan ‘risible’.
The “pathetically small” amount of support provided, according to IDC chair Sarah Champion, made her feel ashamed. She further said that by choosing to take the money out of Pakistan’s current aid, the UK was really doing nothing for Pakistan.
According to Independent, the contribution of up to £1.5 million announced last week, according to IDC chair Sarah Champion in a letter to foreign secretary Liz Truss, equals less than 5p for each individual impacted by the heavy rain that has devastated more than 700,000 homes.
As soon as parliament reconvened on Monday after its summer recess, she requested Ms Truss make an urgent statement regarding the calamity.
The response to the floods, according to Ms Champion, revealed Boris Johnson’s administration policy of continued apathy towards Pakistan, which has dropped from first to seventh in the list of countries receiving bilateral aid from the UK since 2019.
Last week, Lord Ahmad, a minister in the Foreign Office, expressed his thoughts and prayers for the millions of people impacted by the floods that have apparently inundated a third of Pakistan’s territory. “The UK stands with the people of Pakistan during this time of need,” he said.
And on Tuesday, Mr Johnson expressed his deepest sympathies for the Pakistani people, saying, “We have witnessed the destruction there, and it is truly heartbreaking.
“Pakistan is traditionally one of the biggest recipients of UK overseas aid. We will of course make sure that we send a fitting package commensurate with the vital relationship that there is between the UK and Pakistan and people’s natural sympathies with those who have been affected by the floods.”
However, Ms. Champion wrote to Ms Truss in her letter, saying, “Considering the scope and impact of the flooding, I was ashamed to read the government’s declaration of ‘up to £1.5m from the UK’ in humanitarian support on August 27, 2022.”
“Even if the full £1.5m were delivered, it would amount to less than 5p for each person affected.”
“Furthermore, that pathetically small sum will be subtracted from ‘existing support to Pakistan’. The UK government’s risible response to this humanitarian disaster arguably amounts to nothing.”
“However, UK aid funding to Pakistan has been cut dramatically. Pakistan has fallen to seventh in the list of UK bilateral aid recipients since it experienced the largest single decrease in any country budget.”
A Foreign Office spokesperson said that Ms Champion’s letter had been received and a response would be made in due course.
It is important to note that Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan’s Minister of Planning, previously estimated that the cost of the flood damage could reach $10 billion.
Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has on Thursday postponed his upcoming trip to United Arab Emirates (UAE) in order to focus on relief and rescue activities for flood victims in Pakistan.
“I was set to visit the UAE on Sept 3 on the invitation of HH the President. We mutually decided to postpone the visit so that I could focus on the ongoing rescue & relief activities,” tweeted the PM.
“We will forever be indebted to our brothers & sisters who have stood by us in this challenge,” wrote the premier thanking the Arab country for sending the first disbursement of relief goods worth $50 million for flood victims.
I was set to visit the UAE on Sept 3 on the invitation of HH the President. We mutually decided to postpone the visit so that I could focus on the ongoing rescue & relief activities. We will forever be indebted to our brothers & sisters who have stood by us in this challenge.
Earlier, Foreign Minister and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari postponed his official visit to four European countries in August to focus on relief and rescue operations in disaster-hit zones.
The Pakistan Army has also postponed Defense Day ceremony to express solidarity with flood victims.
As a result of the devastating floods, the death toll stands at 1,191, with an estimation that nearly one-third of the country is swamped with flood waters leaving more than 30 million people displaced from their homes. Approximately 116 districts across the country have been affected.
The unprecedented floods have wreaked havoc on the country’s infrastructure as well, with bridges, roads, dams, power lines, schools and houses damaged by raging waters.
World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that 6.4 million people are in need of urgent help while 888 health facilities have been damaged by the floods.
The Pakistan Army on Wednesday (August 31) postponed the Defence Day ceremony — to demonstrate solidarity with flood-affected Pakistanis. The ceremony is held every year on September 6 at GHQ in Rawalpindi.
The announcement was made by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General, Major General Babar Iftikhar, in a tweet from his twitter account. “In solidarity with the flood-affected people of Pakistan, central ceremony at GHQ to commemorate Defence & Martyrs Day on 6 September has been postponed,” he wrote.
“Pakistan Armed Forces shall continue serving our brothers and sisters struck by unprecedented floods,” he added.
In solidarity with the flood affected people of Pakistan, central ceremony at GHQ to commemorate Defence & Martyrs Day on 6 September has been postponed. Pakistan Armed Forces shall continue serving our brothers and sisters struck by unprecedented floods.
Devastating floods have left Pakistan reeling, with the death toll now standing at 1,191. According to the data issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), 422 people have lost their lives in Sindh, 253 in Balochistan and 264 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
It has been estimated that nearly one-third of the country is submerged in flood waters with more than 30 million people displaced from their homes. The raging waters have also wrecked havoc on the country’s infrastructure, with a number of roads, houses, schools and bridges damaged by the floods.
The armed forces are engaged in rescue and relief operations along with provincial and federal administrations.
