Alexandria, Va. – Islamic Relief USA, a nonprofit humanitarian and advocacy organization, is providing lifesaving and life-enhancing assistance to the people of Pakistan, where massive floods stemming from monsoon rains have taken the lives of over 1,000 people and injured thousands more. In addition, countless homes, infrastructure, and farmland has been destroyed.
IRUSA has already committed $340,000 toward the emergency response in Pakistan. The organization’s country office continues to closely monitor the situation on the ground and is adapting its assistance accordingly with the goals of eventually reaching 30,000 families in the country’s hardest hit regions; Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The organization has provided 1,120 cash grants; 1,610 food packs containing flour, rice, and oil; 1,070 hygiene kits, and hundreds of kitchen sets, and tents for shelter. In the long term, the organization intends to provide non-food items.
In all, some 33 million people have been impacted, with some 4.2 million people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
Asif Shirazi, Islamic Relief’s country director in Pakistan, recently visited some of the affected communities in Balochistan:
“The rainy season started on the 14th of June, a month earlier than usual, and took residents by surprise as no one anticipated it. Severe flooding destroyed the entire infrastructure systems in the province, including schools, hospitals, roads, and properties. Thousands of families have been displaced and live now in makeshift tents or fragile old buildings that could collapse at any moment.
“The misery increased with every passing day as the rain continued to inundate the province, and markets ran out of tents forcing many people to sleep in the open air,” Shirazi added. “The majority of residents are farmers who lost their lands and livestock to the floods and are in desperate need of help which has been challenging to deliver because the region was completely cut off for some time.
“The health situation is at significant risk as well. There has been an increase in diarrhea and other acute watery diseases, and in the absence of a functional healthcare system, many people could lose their lives.
“The situation is equally awful in other regions, too. In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, entire villages were washed away after severe flash floods continued for days. Water levels in rivers had increased to dangerous levels, and residents were evacuated. Many water dams across the country have collapsed, which has worsened the situation.
“The damage to business and public infrastructure across the country is massive. It is worse than the 2010 floods, which destroyed a fifth of the country. Relief efforts across the country have been very challenging because the continuing rain has made it impossible to reach many places.
“The humanitarian situation is terrible and could deteriorate without immediate international intervention.
MEDIA CONTACT
Syed M. Hassan
media@irusa.org or
(571) 421-7032 (CELL)
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Islamic Relief USA, based in Alexandria, Va., is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) humanitarian organization. Its mission is to provide relief and development in a dignified manner regardless of gender, race, or religion, and works to empower individuals in their communities and give them a voice in the world. Its programs benefit millions of people each year in more than 40 countries around the world, including in the United States.
Islamic Relief USA meets all of the Standards for Charity Accountability of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, a national charity monitoring group affiliated with the Better Business Bureau system. Islamic Relief USA is on the U.S. government’s Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) charity list, and it is also a signatory to the code of conduct of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.