Updated August 2011
When the floods in Pakistan began in July 2010, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement moved quickly to respond. By March 2011, the Movement had:
- reached more than 2.45 million people with food aid
- distributed aid items, such as blankets, jerry cans, kitchen sets, buckets and stoves to over 1.6 million people
- provided medical treatment and health care to more than 197,000 people
- gave psychological support to around 21,000 people
- provided clean water and sanitation to more than 700,000 people, including building latrines and making damaged wells usable again
- distributed tents and shelter materials to tens of thousands of people
- helped almost 900 families get back in touch through the restoring family links service
- distributed seed and agricultural tools to more than 420,000 people to help provide food for the next harvest.
British Red Cross response
The British Red Cross launched its Pakistan Floods Appeal on 2 August. Our appeal, plus money drawn from the Disasters Emergency Committee and the Department for International Development, raised a total of £13.5 million.
The British Red Cross helped provide food for almost 500,000 people, as well as providing over 100,000 blankets, 26,000 mosquito nets, 28,000 kitchen sets, 13,000 hygiene kits and 6,000 jerry cans to the operation. In addition, it donated more than 90,000 tarpaulins, 12,000 shelter tool kits and 1,500 tents, providing emergency shelter for 325,500 people.
As the floods moved south, the British Red Cross sent a team of logistics specialists to Sindh and Punjab provinces, who co-ordinated the arrival and dispatch of relief items for four months. With public health being one of the biggest threats to survivors of Pakistan’s floods, we also deployed a team of sanitation and hygiene specialists to the hard-hit Sindh province. These teams then handed over to colleagues in Pakistan.
Two of the mobile health clinics that the British Red Cross already supports in Pakistan, as part of an ongoing healthcare programme, were also deployed to help with the relief operation in one of the worst-affected parts of the Balochistan province.
Recovery
The Pakistan Red Crescent, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and the International Committee of the Red Cross are all operational in the country, and are co-ordinating aid from other parts of the Movement, including the British Red Cross.
The British Red Cross is supporting the Federation’s recovery work, which will help 5,000 families recover their livelihoods and give 11,500 families the capability to rebuild their homes. The Federation is also trialling a female health worker training programme.
Livelihoods work is taking place in Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa, Punjab and Sindh. In these areas, many people relied on small businesses, agriculture and livestock to live. The floods have damaged huge expanses of farmland and many shops, while employment in other sectors such as road construction has also been affected. The Red Cross livelihoods programme will provide agricultural tools and seeds, cash grants for income generating activities, and support for community livelihood initiatives.
Read more about our recovery work