Edinburgh Mum supporting humanitarian efforts in Pakistan
We're hearing from an Edinburgh Mum of two, who says the devastating flooding catastrophe in Pakistan is the toughest challenge she's faced in her humanitarian work
An Edinburgh Mum who has been aiding humanitarian efforts in Pakistan, after devastating flooding, says it's one of the toughest challenges she's faced.
Sandra Baldwin has helped combat an Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and a famine in Ethiopia - but these scenes are throwing up challenges like no other.
Recently the Deputy Development Director for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in Pakistan has been on the ground in the nation after it was hit by monsoons.
Devastating floods last year left a third of Pakistan – an area bigger than the whole of Britain – under water, killing over 1,700 people and leaving 20million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
Mum-of-two Sandra, from Edinburgh, has been playing a key role in helping to deliver the UK’s life-saving humanitarian support on the ground.
The international development specialist said: “The waters may have now receded, but Pakistan’s troubles have far from gone away. The sheer numbers of displaced and affected people seeking shelter, food or medical help makes this one of the toughest crises I’ve ever faced on the ground.
“Peoples’ homes, crops and livelihoods have been totally swept away. The fallout from the flooding catastrophe is akin to what I faced in Ethiopia dealing with the Horn of Africa famine in 2009 and 2010.
“Winter is here and the people in the most affected areas are dependent on food, shelter and other aid on a daily basis. We are seeing high levels of malnutrition and disease.
“The lack of access to clean drinking water has meant that by sheer necessity people are drinking from polluted flood waters, which perpetuates the cycle of water borne disease. As if there weren’t enough problems, malaria levels have increased significantly, and cholera is being seen in some areas.
“I don’t think you can ever get used to seeing the scenes of devastation we have been witnessing. It is utterly heart-breaking.”
According to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Agency, two million houses have been destroyed or damaged, with 546,000 people now living in relief camps.
The disaster has also damaged or destroyed 12,716 km of roads, 22,000 schools, and 745 health centres.
It’s estimated the country will need around $16billion for the next three to five years to rebuild the devastation.
International Development Minister Andrew Mitchell announced a further £9million of UK Government funding at a Geneva conference last Monday (January 9) hosted by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and UN Secretary General António Guterres.
The UK has now committed a total of £36million to provide urgent shelter, food and medical supplies to some of the worst hit areas.