When will we all wake the hell up?
For more than a month, monsoon rains have Pakistan, leaving an area the size of England underwater. About 1,600 people are dead. Five million people are homeless. As many as 17 million of the country's 140 million people have been affected by the floods.
And then there's this:
According to the United Nations more than 8 million children have been made vulnerable because of the floods. Of them, 3.5 million are under threat of disease or malnutrition. And for 70,000, their health is so bad they are at serious risk of death.
Can we yell it loud enough: Children are dying!
And from the New York Times and Washington Post international sections?
Crickets. F*cking crickets!
In fact: F*cking Cricket (betting).
Oh, there's several stories from Pakistan from the U.S. media, but not one of them makes even a passing reference to the floods. In fairness, CNN has pretty extensive coverage.
Help Pakistan! is a group dedicated to getting needed humanitarian support to flood ravaged Pakistan, and disseminating information pertaining to the floods to the dailykos community at large. Our goal is getting donations to those people who need it most.
If you have a negative comment pertaining to Pakistan, its people, its culture, or its relationship with the United States, please refrain from making it here. If you would like to be a part of our group, please click the picture at the very bottom of this diary. We would love more volunteers to help us with the burden of getting a diary up every day. Thank you, dailykos, for your time.
I've never been to Pakistan. I don't even know if I have ever met a Pakistani person. But it's pictures like these that get me.
Pir Sabaq village in Nowshera District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province.
Twenty-five-year-old Ahmed Saeed says his baby has diarrhoea, like most of the other village children. He took his son to the Pakistan Red Crescent clinic to be treated. "The medicines are good, but we need more help than that," he says, looking worried. His family's two-room house was badly damaged by the floods and their belongings were ruined.
From the International Committee of the Red Cross
After nearly one month of floods in Pakistan the Indus river floods the Sindh Provionce.
ShelterBox tents have been distributed by the National Rural Support Program (NRSP) in the Sindh region of Pakistan. The NRSP have been operating all over Pakistan in response to the recent flooding and have distributed enough shelter for thousands of people thanks to ShelterBox.
Photography by Mark Pearson
From Shelterbox UK
Here's some of the latest news from Pakistan's floods.
From CNN:
More deaths feared in Pakistan as flood waters recede
(CNN) -- The death toll from Pakistan's massive flooding has climbed to 1,639, but the number could rise substantially as flood waters recede and more bodies surface, government officials say.
More than 17 million Pakistanis -- about the population of the Netherlands -- have been affected by the monsoon floods that began a month ago.
In the past few days, at least 1 million people have been displaced in Pakistan's Sindh province, the United Nations said. Authorities issued evacuation orders after a levee burst.
I also recommend Dr. Sanjay Gupta's reporting from Pakistan.
This one is a few weeks old, but it can't be repeated enough. Unless we cap emissions yesterday, aid appeals like this will become the norm rather than the exception.
via Reuters:
Analysis: Pakistan floods, Russia heat fit climate trend
(Reuters) - Devastating floods in Pakistan and Russia's heatwave match predictions of extremes caused by global warming even though it is impossible to blame mankind for single severe weather events, scientists say.
This year is on track to be the warmest since reliable temperature records began in the mid-19th century, beating 1998, mainly due to a build-up of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels, according to the U.N. World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
And like we have been saying for weeks here, the end of the flood is only the beginning of the need for aid.
From the Daily Times of Pakistan
Floods inflict $43bn damage: PM
ISLAMABAD: The damage inflicted to the country’s economy by the floods is estimated at $43 billion, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Wednesday, adding that due to the devastating floods, the country had suffered Rs 350 to Rs 500 billion worth of damage to infrastructure, livestock and crops.
The country’s economy grew by 4.1 percent during last year and was expected to grow by 4.5 percent during the current fiscal year 2010-11, he said, adding that the damage caused by the floods would bring down the real GDP growth to 2.5 percent for 2010-11.
And to underscore that need, the World Bank today announced that it will loan Pakistan $1 billion in interest free loans. Unlike some other loans to developing countries, at least the bank won't be demanding insane interest rates. Still, every dollar in direct aid is a dollar not taken from future generations of Pakistanis.
World Bank Raises Pakistan Floods Support to US$1 Billion
WASHINGTON, DC, September 1, 2010 – World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick told Pakistan Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh today that the Bank would raise its flood-related support in the current fiscal year to US$1 billion from US$900 million and emphasized the Bank Group’s commitment to help Pakistan recover from the worst floods in its history.
"As the surging Indus River devastates Pakistan, the country needs the world’s support to meet urgent humanitarian needs: food, clean water, sanitation facilities, medical and nutritional supplies, and vaccines," said Zoellick after meeting Shaikh. "At the same time, Pakistan’s reconstruction and recovery also require long-term support. The World Bank is committed to helping the people of Pakistan during this time of need and has made US$1 billion available to finance immediate recovery needs and longer-term reconstruction."
The money will come from the Bank's fund for the poorest countries, the International Development Association (IDA), which means that the loans are concessional and carry no interest payments. This funding is already programmed money for Pakistan that is being diverted to meet immediate needs.
Finally, here is the amazing Angelina Jolie appealing for help.
How YOU can help
Shelterbox:
DONATE
To Text a Donation:
Text "FLOOD" to 27722. Your $10 will go to the State Department Fund for Pakistan Relief that Secretary Clinton announced August 19, and is part of a new effort to bring attention to the need for aid.
Text "SWAT" to 50555 $10 goes to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees fund for flood victims
"Text FLOODS to 864233 (UNICEF) to donate $10"
Action Against Hunger - contain the spread of water-borne illnesses. It will provide access to clean water through water trucking, repair water points, disinfect contaminated sources, and distribute purification tablets. The response will also include constructing emergency latrines and public sanitation facilities, distributing thousands of hygiene kits, organizing hygiene promotion campaigns, and helping communities clear the streets of rubble and debris. ACF is also planning "cash-for-work" programs to help families regain their livelihoods and will distribute household items. ACF will also provide vouchers to purchase basic necessities and micro-grants for restarting small businesses
ActionAid International USA - will provide immediate support in terms of food, non-food items, water, sanitation, hygiene and construction of shelters
Adventist Development and Relief Agency International - expects to distribute aid such as shelters, blankets, hygiene kits, food, and water
Aga Khan Foundation USA - providing food, temporary shelter, education materials for children, medicines and clean water to affected people. In addition, mobile medical teams have are providing emergency health care
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee - has opened an emergency relief fund and is collecting donations to directly assist the floods victims on a non-sectarian basis
American Jewish World Service - emergency support for victims of the flooding and helping to prevent the spread of disease
American Refugee Committee International - deployed mobile health teams to Baluchistan in Sibi district to provide health assistance. In Swat, mobile health teams have been deployed by boat to reach areas made inaccessible by washed out roads and collapsed bridges. ARC Pakistan’s maternal child health center in Swat remains operational and ARC’s team is distributing non-food items to patients and offering health and hygiene sessions, emphasizing education around contaminated water. The team is also distributing essential medicines
AmeriCare - delivering and distributing lifesaving medical assistance and emergency aid to flood-impacted communities
Baptist World Alliance/Baptist World Aid - sending funds for medical, food and shelter needs
BRAK USA - Pakisan has begun to deliver food packets containing such items at rice, lentils, flour and water purification tablets
Brother's Brother Foundation - plans to send requested donated pharmaceuticals and medical supplies (Gifts In-kind Accepted: pharmaceuticals, medical supplies)
Catholic Relief Services - aid packages include water purification tablets, soap, cookware, jerry cans, mosquito nets and more
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee - intervention that includes tents, mosquito nets, hygiene kits, and trauma counseling. CRWRC will also provide emergency food assistance to 64,000 individuals displaced by the disaster in hard-hit Nowshera and Charsadda Districts of Khyber Paktunkhwa Province. CRWRC will work with Pakistani partner Interfaith League Against Poverty (I-Lap) to provide 8,000 families with a one-month food supply including flour, salt, sugar, oil, beans, and spices
Church World Service - Assistance includes food and non-food relief items, emergency shelter and basic health services
CONCERN Worldwide US - prioritizing the distribution of: clean water, food, shelter, emergency medical assistance, mosquito nets, and basic hygiene and kitchen items
Food for the Hungry - distribution of food, NFIs, tents and hygiene kits (Gifts In-kind Accepted: NFIs: mosquito nets, hygiene kits, kitchen sets, cooking stoves as well as water purifying tablets and filters)
Friends of ACTED - essential non-food items, water & sanitation, cash for work, emergency shelter and rehabilitation of basic infrastructure
Giving Children Hope - tents, food and blankets as well as will be sending medical supplies to help those displaced by the flood (Gifts In-kind Accepted: Disaster relief materials: tents, blankets, flashlights, food, etc. [all new and in good dates])
Global Fund for Children - providing emergency support to our grassroots grantee partners in regions affected by the floods in Pakistan to help meet their communities’ immediate needs
HelpAge USA - has partnered with medical aid agency, Merlin International, to provide targeted emergency care to the most vulnerable older people and their families in the Nowshera district in Northwest Pakistan. Preliminary efforts include distributing mobility and hearing aids, emergency health assessment kits, as well as household items such as food, flashlights, bedding, and water containers
International Catholic Migration Commission - medical staff are providing individualized consultations in UC Prango, distributing medications, while also developing referral protocols and coordinating primary health care response with government hospitals, health centres, private clinics and dispensaries
International Medical Corp - support displaced people through mobile medical units serving the hardest hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in the northwest, treating cases of acute respiratory infection, acute diarrhea and skin disease. In addition we have deployed psychologists to address mental health needs, as well as hygiene promoters in the worst affected districts
International Relief & Development - provides safe drinking water, sanitation, household items, and emergency temporary shelter (Gifts In-kind Accepted:Tents, bedding, shelter for children, toys, solar flashlights, livestock feed, medicine to prevent and treat infectious diseases)
International Rescue Committee - water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions
Islamic Relief USA - providing food and water as well as distributing tents and blankets
Life for Relief & Development - tents, blankets, pillows, medicine and medical supplies, hygiene kits which include buckets, towels, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, laundry detergent and food baskets to feed a family of 7 for a month
Lutheran World Relief - In addition to food will distribute shelter kits, jerry cans, plastic mats, hygiene kits and mosquito nets (Gifts In-kind Accepted: LWR accepts quilts, health kits, school kits, baby layettes, sewing kits and soap for distribution during emergencies. Specific information about donating in-kind items is on our website.)
MAP International - coordinating with in-country health institutions and programs for the delivery and dispensing of medicines and medical services (Gifts In-kind Accepted: Accepting appropriate long dated pharmaceuticals, OTC medicines and medical supplies)
Medical Emergency Relief International, USA - has set up 28 health clinics and deployed 18 mobile teams. Merlin medics are running 24-hour clinics in Jalozai camp, home to over 100,000 vulnerable people, in response to a significant spike in diarrhea and other waterborne disease
Medical Teams International - have shipped three containers of medical supplies to partners on the ground in the flood-affected area of the country. The medicines and supplies are enough to help hundreds of thousands of people and are valued at nearly $2 million
Mercy Corp - Mercy Corps helps people in the world’s toughest places turn the crises of natural disaster, poverty and conflict into opportunities for progress. Driven by local needs and market conditions, our programs provide communities with the tools and support they need to transform their own lives. Our worldwide team of 3,700 professionals is improving the lives of 16.7 million people in more than 40 countries
Mercy - USA For Aid & Development - providing food, water and hygiene packages to families left homeless by severe flooding in the northwestern Khyber Pakthunkhwa Province. Each family package contains: 88 pounds of wheat flour, 11 lb. of rice, 6.6 lb. of pulses, 11 lb. of dates, 2.2 lb. of sugar, 1.1 lb. of dry milk, 2 liters of cooking oil, one portable gas stove, matches, one large water proof plastic sheet, one 10-liter jerry can, 5 liters of bottled water, water purification tablets, one towel, toothpaste, 3 toothbrushes, one fingernail clipper, 2 combs and 6 large bars of soap
Operation USA - helps communities at home and abroad overcome the effects of disasters, disease and endemic poverty by providing privately-funded relief, reconstruction and development aid (Gifts In-kind Accepted:Bulk disaster materials including water purification chemicals, shelter supplies, electric generators, medicines and medical equipment are accepted from corporations)
Oxfam America - installing toilets and water-storage tanks and delivering clean water by truck to prevent deadly waterborne diseases from sweeping through communities of displaced people
Plan USA - provision of tents, food and water, as well as health and hygiene kits in shelter camps. Plan is also working with local authorities to monitor and address possible disease outbreak
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance/Hunger Program - provide food, shelter and medical assistance
Relief International - deployed emergency health units to ensure immediate access to primary care and medical supplies; are distributing Emergency Family Kits that include water purification tablets, clean water receptacles and temporary shelter materials; providing clean drinking water to communities suffering from water contamination and to those with no access to water at all. Our team is organizing the distribution of non-food-items (such as clean clothing, bedding and household items) to children to ensure their survival
Save the Children - Of particular concern is the health of the floods’ youngest survivors. The agency is providing emergency medical care and distributing tents, shelter kits, hygiene kits, food and supplies. Save the Children has mobile health teams working in flood zones and is supporting health clinics. The organization is distributing hygiene and "clean delivery" birth kits and conducting hygiene promotion to prevent the rise in waterborne diseases like acute watery diarrhea. Save the Children also has established a diarrhea center for flood-affected communities in Swat
Solidarity Center - will use relief fund contributions to distribute clothing, medicine, and non-perishable food to displaced workers and their families, build temporary shelters, and assist in providing needed counseling and health care
United Methodist Committee on Relief - providing clean drinking water, food, temporary shelter, and medical aid to tens of thousands of people affected by the crisis
US Fund for UNICEF - have set up nine medical camps and are providing medicine, water treatment tablets, nutritional supplements, hygiene kits, and jerry cans. The agency is also supporting the local authorities by providing clean drinking water
World Food Program USA - providing monthly food rations to flood‐affected communities in 24 districts (Gifts In-kind Accepted: Please contact for more information)
World Vision, United States - has begun distributing food and water to flood survivors, and and plans to provide medical assistance, shelter, hygiene kits and other basic relief items as soon as possible
Previous diaries about the floods in Pakistan (with the Help Pakistan tag):
Sept 1: Help Pakistan: "My heart is torn, Hear the wounds of my heart "
Aug 31: "Everything is lost, I'm left with nothing." Help Pakistan. (sister diary to: Food Glorious Food [Pakistan])
Aug 31: Food Glorious Food [Pakistan] (sister diary to: "Everything is lost, I'm left with nothing." Help Pakistan.)
Aug 30: One month of secret suffering
Aug 30: Help Pakistan: Unimaginable Suffering
Aug 30: [Help Pakistan] Focus on Thatta, Sindh Province
Aug 29: HELP PAKISTAN! Health Epidemics Loom
Aug 29: It's what you don't say that counts.
Aug 29: Help Avaaz to $1Million for floods! (Beck-less)
Aug 28: Help Pakistan! Updates and a donation goal
Aug 27: HEY - Where are you people?
Aug 27: Millions without shelter - Help Pakistan
Aug 27: Helping Pakistan: $359 toward ShelterBox #140!
Aug 27: Pakistan Floods News Update: August 27th, 2010
Aug 26: Humanitarian Relief Needed in Pakistan. Women and Children First
Aug 25: Massive wave of new climate refugees in Pakistan
Aug 24: They're Dying (sister diary to "Pakistan Flood: Different Growing Up")
Aug 24: Pakistan Flood: Different Growing Up (sister diary to "They're Dying")
Aug 23: Forgotten Humanity: Tragedy Continues in Pakistan
Aug 23: New flooding in the south, thousands more displaced - Help Pakistan
Aug 22: Aid Pakistan With Money or Action
Aug 22: Why?
Aug 21: ... and a river runs through it: Pakistan's WaterWars
Aug 21: Help-Pakistan!: Devastation
Aug 20: Pakistan Floods - reporting/working from the inside
Aug 20: Pakistan Relief: Just watch the video
Aug 19: A slow moving Tsunami ....
Aug 19: Anti-Muslim Bigotry: Not just for wingnuts anymore
Aug 18: Pakistan Floods... Please Help
Aug 18: Chaos is the new Normal {Earthship Wednesday}
Aug 18: EcoAdvocates: A green model in the Gulf
Aug 17: Please Help Pakistan... Please ... Update: New Flood Warnings
Aug 16: pakistan III: the human face of climate change: ecojustice
Aug 16: Pakistan still needs help; lots of it. Floods displace 20+ Million
Aug 14: Pakistan: 6 Million Without Water (How to Help)
Aug 9: Media ignores "Worst Humanitarian Disaster In Recent History"
Jul 31: Pakistan needs help. Floods kill 800+, displace 1 Million
• • • • • •
We are looking at what may be the worst humanitarian crisis the world has seen in a century.
Some of us at Daily Kos use a Google group to help organize for the crisis in Pakistan. Anyone who would like to get involved or get alerts when a new HELP PAKISTAN diary is posted, please join.
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