Angelina Jolie - More Help Needed for Pakistan's Flood Victims
Press Releases, 31 August 2010
GENEVA, August 31 (UNHCR) – UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie has appealed for greater public support for efforts to provide humanitarian relief to the millions of people whose lives have been devastated by the floods inundating much of Pakistan.
Angelina Jolie's Pakistan Appeal
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador calls for more public support for the victims of Pakistan's devastating floods.In a video message released today, the actress points to the sheer scale of the disaster. "One-fifth of Pakistan is under water… and the threat of disease now looms for 20 million affected people. This is not just a humanitarian crisis, it is an economic and social catastrophe. UNHCR is on the ground. The more support we can give, the greater number of tents, food, clean water and medicine will get to the people in need," she says.
UN refugee agency teams in Pakistan have provided shelter and other emergency supplies to hundreds of thousands of people caught up in the disaster. But with nearly 20 million people estimated to have been affected, the needs of the victims are outpacing the ability of humanitarian organizations to provide assistance. Last week UNHCR revised upwards its global appeal for the Pakistan flood operation to US$120 million from US$41 million.
Angelina Jolie has visited Pakistan on three previous occasions since becoming a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador in 2001. At the outbreak of the current crisis she donated US$100,000 to the agency for its assistance work in the country.
Pakistan: Fleeing to Safety
More than 1.5 million people flee their homes in North-West Pakistan.
Fighting between the army and Taliban militants in and around the Swat Valley in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province has displaced more than 1.5 million people since the beginning of May. Some of the displaced are being sheltered in camps set up by the government and supplied by UNHCR. Others - the majority, in fact - are staying in public buildings, such as schools, or with friends and extended family members. Living conditions are harsh. With the onset of summer, rising temperatures are contributing to a range of ailments, especially for villagers from Swat accustomed to a cooler climate. Pakistan's displacement crisis has triggered an outpouring of generosity at home. UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres is urging a "massive" assistance effort from abroad as well.
Pakistan: Fleeing to Safety
Photo Essay: Documenting the floods in Pakistan
Photojournalist Alixandra Fazzina, winner of UNHCR's Nansen Refugee Award among other commendations, is on the ground in Pakistan.
Photo Essay: Documenting the floods in Pakistan
2010 Pakistan flood emergency
Torrential rains and flash floods have affected around a million people in parts of southwest and northwestern Pakistan. More than one thousand people lost their lives when water inundated their homes in the past week. Though monsoon rains are nothing new for Pakistanis, it rained more than expected, washing away homes, roads and other basic infrastructure, creating the worst flood disaster in the country's history. UNHCR launched a relief response to support the authorities to help people affected by the flood. The local relief authorities in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces have started distribution of UNHCR-provided tents and other relief items. More relief items are on the way.
2010 Pakistan flood emergency
Pakistan: Flood Relief
Floods in Pakistan have ruined crops and destroyed homes. The rains have ended but displaced people will need help for weeks or months to come.
Pakistan: The Floods Return
Flooding has returned to Pakistan, forcing people to flee their homes for the second year in a row. A year after his wife died in floodwaters, Obhayo Babar is on the move again.
Pakistan: One Year after the Floods
A year after the most devastating floods in Pakistan's history, life is still not back to normal for some people in the picturesque Swat Valley.
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