WaterAid responds to Pakistan floods with emergency relief to over 40,000 people

Posted by
Jeff Greene
on
27 August 2022
In
Individuals, Employees and companies, Pakistan, Campaigns, Fundraising resources, Water, Hygiene, Climate change
Flooding in Badin District, Sindh Province, Pakistan. Sept 2022
Image: WaterAid/ Xulfi Panhwar

New York, August 27, 2022:

WaterAid is responding to the crisis in Pakistan and has allocated PKR 30 million (over $136,000 USD) for initial emergency relief to over 40,000 people affected by the floods. It is handing out hygiene kits with soap, towels and jerrycans, it will disinfect drinking water sources, build temporary toilets in schools/camps, help with the clearance of flood water and support the specific needs of women and girls in the flood affected areas including provision of menstrual hygiene kits.

Heavy monsoon rains and floods have affected 30 million people in Pakistan since mid-June, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Over 900 people were killed by devastating monsoon rains and floods including 326 children and at least 95,350 homes have been destroyed. 

The situation for families is extremely dire and it is likely to continue for months. People have lost their homes, their belongings, they have lost family members. Clean water sources and toilets have been washed away or damaged, meaning people are forced to drink contaminated water – with disease outbreaks only one glass of dirty water away. It’s vital to help people with food and shelter, but also soap, towels, jerrycans, so they can practice basic hygiene and avoid diseases like diarrhea.

Water sources need to be restored, and it’s important people have access to decent toilets, to prevent disease outbreaks. Our initial response is for two months but we will continue to expand our response as we raise more funds. We will also continue our efforts through our ongoing programs that specifically focus on climate-resilient water, sanitation and hygiene, especially for women-headed households and marginalized groups.
Arif Jabbar Khan, Country Director of WaterAid in Pakistan

WaterAid has initiated the flood response with the help of its local partners in Badin (Sindh), Rajanpur (Punjab) and Swat (Khyber Pukhtunkhwa) Districts and will focus on:

  • Disinfecting drinking water sources
  • Providing hygiene kits
  • Constructing toilets in schools/camps
  • Removal of flood water
  • Educational sessions on safe water, sanitation, and personal hygiene
  • Supporting the needs of women and girls in flood areas including the provision of menstrual hygiene kits
These devastating floods in Pakistan show that climate change is too much for any one country to handle. Earlier this year Pakistan battled scorching heatwaves, now it's the floods that have killed well over 1,000 people and have affected more than 30 million people - this is climate-blow upon blow. And it's likely to get even worse in the years to come, if action is not taken.

We need world leaders to step up and help the millions in Pakistan who have been affected by the deadly floods with food, shelter, and clean and safe water to curb the outbreak of diseases. We have to rebuild water points, toilets and lives.

But we also need them to take urgent action for the longer term. The climate crisis is a water crisis at its core, so we need comprehensive, global action to mitigate the impact of climate change across the world, and to ensure the most vulnerable communities have access to basics such as water and food no matter the climate impacts that are already upon us. Every meeting between world leaders should have the climate crisis at the top of its agenda.
Arif Jabbar Khan, Country Director of WaterAid in Pakistan

WaterAid is an international nonprofit working to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene a reality for everyone, everywhere within a generation. WaterAid works in more than 30 countries to change the lives of the poorest and most marginalized people. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 28 million people with clean water, 28 million people with decent toilets and 26 million people with good hygiene.

Visit WaterAid to learn more

Statistics

  • 750 million people in the world – one in ten – do not have clean water close to home.
  • Two billion people in the world – almost one in four – do not have a decent toilet of their own.
  • Around 310,000 children under five die every year from diarrheal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation. That's around 800 children a day, or one child every two minutes. 

Every $2 invested in water and toilets returns an average of $8 in increased productivity.

Further resources

Donate crypto

Tax-Efficient Donations

Our 2021 Annual Report

We are proud to have a 2022 Platinum-level Seal of Transparency from Guidestar 

Related press