ASIA/PAKISTAN - More than one million flood victims in Sindh in "piteous conditions", having to face the government's apathy

Karachi (Agenzia Fides) - More than 1.3 million flood victims who, in Sindh province (southern Pakistan) find themselves in "piteous conditions", are having to face indifference on behalf of the institutions: this is the alarm raised in the new Report of a network of the Pakistani civil society, called "People's Accountability Commission on Floods" (PACF), composed of numerous NGOs. In the Report, sent to Fides, the network emphasizes the current disastrous situation of the August 2011 flood victims, still present in eight districts of Sindh, "exposed to natural and social afflictions". Civil society reports that relief efforts for flood victims have stopped, but 17% of flood-affected areas are still submerged and people do not have clean water, arable land, food and permanent shelter.
According to NGOs, shelters should immediately be organized and give means of economic and social survival, as hundreds of thousands of people live in open or temporary fields, in unbearable conditions in the cold season. PACF criticizes the sudden closure of state relief camps last December, and asks to allow at least the support of WFP (UN World Food Programme) until resettlement measures have full effect.
According to PACF, although the 2011 flood is "the eighth in a series", no planning has been taken to prevent similar disasters. More than 1.3 million homes have been damaged or destroyed in the 23 districts affected by floods, but emergency shelters have been provided only to 27% of flood victims - the Report concludes - even though the provincial authorities speak of "early recovery plans" . (PA) (Agenzia Fides 12/01/2012)