Oxfam says more funds and effort needed to avert 'spiralling crisis' in Pakistan

Oxfam says the international community must urgently inject more funds and effort into flood-hit Pakistan to stave off a "spiralling crisis".

The warning follows the launch of a major humanitarian appeal launched by the UN on Friday.

The aid agency warns that only a fraction of people affected are receiving the help they need. Only around four million people have received food aid, while only around 37 per cent of the funds needed for water and sanitation have been gathered.

The UN estimates that over 70 per cent of the affected population still lacks access to safe drinking water, while more than 80 per cent lack access to clean, functioning toilets.

Jane Cocking, Oxfam’s Humanitarian Director, who is visiting Pakistan, said: “This is a crisis of a truly epic scale and it’s far from over yet. If the people that need help do not receive it, then disease and hunger could spiral.

"We desperately need donors to step up to the plate and inject urgent funding. These people have lost so much, but they still could lose more.

"Even today, people are drinking dirty and contaminated water straight out of the Indus river. Soon we will need to help them go home and restart their lives.”

Oxfam said that the number of reported cases of acute diarrhoea and skin diseases had more than trebled in the past three weeks, while the number of reported cases of acute respiratory infections have quadrupled.

It expressed concern that flood survivors would face hunger in the coming months after the floods wiped out the food stocks of around 40 per cent of families in flood-affected areas.

It said that with malnutrition rates in the affected areas already high, and more cases of acute diarrhoea reported each day, such lack of food could cause severe problems, particularly amongst children.

The aid agency fears that the food crisis could even run into 2011 as vast agricultural areas have been badly damaged by the waters and are therefore unlikely to miss the winter planting season.

Although the first UN appeal stands at $460 million, many of the pledges have yet to be turned into money.

Cocking continued: “The international community won’t have many chances to show solidarity with people caught up in Pakistan’s floods. The UN appeal is one of them and they must seize on it to send a clear signal that they care about the millions affected by this disaster. In turn, aid agencies, must challenge themselves, and ensure they are doing their utmost to reach all the people that need it.”

Oxfam is helping one million people, one of its biggest emergency responses worldwide. It currently has an assessment team in Hyderabad, south Sindh, with a view to scaling up there.

Cocking said: “Each day, we ask ourselves, are we doing enough? Could we do more? I’d urge all aid agencies to ask themselves the same questions. All of us need to be going at full throttle to have any chance of stemming this mounting crisis.”