(News Brief) Many Pakistani flood victims returning to their places of origin – UN

Dheri village elder Habib Khan speaks during a community meeting conducted in support of UNICEF-supported health campaigns(HN, October 1, 2010)  -- The United Nations humanitarian arm said yesterday that the majority of people displaced by the floods in Pakistan have either returned to their places of origin or are doing so, except in Sindh, one of the worst-hit provinces.

The floods are estimated to have affected over 20 million people, or roughly 10 per cent of the total population, with over 75 per cent of them in Sindh and Punjab provinces, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

UN agencies and their partners are stepping up their efforts to assist those affected by the disaster, which killed nearly 2,000 people and exposed millions to homelessness, malnutrition, risks of epidemics and loss of livelihood.

Since the start of the flood response, the World Health Organization (WHO) has provided medicines sufficient for nearly 5 million people.

The agency, along with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has also procured half a million insecticide-treated bed nets as an initial response to the increased malaria risk in flood-affected districts.

Meanwhile, enough tents and tarpaulins have been delivered to provide shelter to more than 448,400 families, while some 3.6 million people are receiving potable water. In addition, food assistance has been delivered to an estimated 7 million people.

To date, UN agencies and their partners have received 31 per cent of the more than $2 billion they are seeking under the revised floods emergency response plan to provide assistance for up to 14 million people affected by the floods over a 12-month period.

- SOURCE: UN News