Emergency Unfolds as Flooding Devastates Northern Pakistan

With the most severe flooding on record in over 80 years, northern
Pakistan is reeling from a natural disaster of significant scale and
scope. As estimates of the dead and displaced rise steadily since the
flooding began-and with more monsoon rains on the way-the global
humanitarian organization Action Against Hunger | ACF International
is rushing to assess where best to deploy its emergency water and
sanitation programs to help stem the outbreak of disease and water-borne
illnesses.

Current estimates indicate that more than 1,500 lives have been lost
to the floodwaters, hundreds of thousands remain stranded, and between
two and three million people have been forced to flee their homes and
are in need of emergency assistance. ACF's teams are rushing to assess
where needs are most critical, but the scale of the crisis, the chaos of
the displacement and dislocation, the impending monsoons, and the
destruction of vital infrastructure make communication and coordination
all the more difficult.

"The overwhelming concern, beyond rescuing survivors, is to keep
diseases like cholera at bay by ensuring access to clean water and basic
hygiene," explains Nick Radin, ACF's Water, Sanitation & Hygiene
Advisor for Pakistan. "The needs are urgent, but unfortunately this
disaster extends over a massive geographical area, which complicates
relief efforts. It's a race against time to reach the thousands needing
immediate help."

Action Against Hunger has implemented programs in Pakistan since
working among the Afghan refugee camps in 1980. Our regional presence
has expanded over the years, addressing food and water insecurity across
its southern and western provinces, and our on-the-ground presence
positioned us as a key provider of emergency assistance after the 2005
earthquake and the flooding in the Sindh and Balochistan in 2007.