UN calls for urgent opening of LoC
Pakistan and India opened a crossing on their disputed border on Monday to help earthquake survivors but the historic move was quickly beset by trouble when Pakistani villagers were turned back by their own police firing teargas. Pakistani police also fired into the air as the protesters tried to approach the heavily militarised Line of Control, the de facto border separating Pakistani and Indian Kashmir. REUTERS Roads crossing the Line of Control (LoC) must be opened rapidly to get vital aid to thousands of homeless survivors of the South Asian earthquake before winter sets in, the UN food aid agency WFP said on Tuesday.
"We have desperate need for much wider access to hundreds of thousands of people in remote valleys and on high plateaux in Azad Kashmir, near the demarcation line," WFP spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume told a news briefing. "If we could establish a land route from India (held Kashmir), it would allow us to save thousands of lives," she said.
The Rome-based World Food Programme is taking a leading role in the financially strapped UN effort to distribute supplies and tents in the quake area before the severe Himalayan winter grips the region. "With the winter coming on rapidly, it is crucial to get to these people rapidly. Many of them have had no help at all since the quake struck a month ago," Berthiaume said, adding "We are in a race against the clock to get food stocks in place."
Both the UN’s coordination body for humanitarian affairs OCHA and the global Red Cross/Red Crescent body say they are in desperate need of cash for their quake aid operations, in which helicopters play a key role.
Chief UN emergency coordinator Jan Vandemoortele told a news conference that "one month on, the scale of the disaster is still emerging, the casualty numbers are still going up and we have not reached the final number yet. But progress is for real ... Perhaps for the first time since October 8 there is a sense of cautious optimism in the humanitarian community. The job is colossal, but there’s a feeling it’s a doable job. It’s not mission impossible."
Funds and materials were flowing in, he said. "We see that the pipeline is gradually becoming a reality in terms of money and in terms of deliverables-the tents, the blankets." "Our objective is to keep people alive ... If we can keep the momentum, we will be ready for the winter," he added.
"I’ve never seen a situation where so much has to be done in such a short time," said Pat Duggan, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Muzaffarabad. IOM official Chris Lom said 373,000 tents had been delivered and 127,000 were on the way. "We don’t need to order any more family tents at this point," Lom said. Although bigger communal tents for schools and clinics were needed, he said. "The number one thing that we are now seeing is acute respiratory infections," said Rachel Lavy of the UN World Health Organisation. "That’s obviously a sign of the coming winter and viral diseases-coughs and colds spreading around. "There is also a concern about diarrhoeal illnesses."
The Health Ministry says there have been nearly 9,000 cases of acute respiratory infec tions, including pneumonia, more than 6,000 cases of diarrhoea, 1,130 cases of dysentery and 139 cases of tetanus, of whom 41 have died.
"What is particularly difficult in Kashmir is that people (will) freeze to death if they don’t get assistance in weeks," UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland said overnight in New York. "It’s even more urgent than it was in these other hurricanes or tsunamis." Egeland urged everyone from individuals to oil-rich nations to contribute.
Egeland said the UN has launched "Operation Winter Race" to bring shelter to about 200,000 people living at high altitudes above the snow line in the rugged Himalayas and about 150,000 expected to come down to tent camps at lower elevations. "The concept is one warm room per family before it becomes too cold," he said. Egeland said he was encouraged that 334,000 tents have been delivered and that 332,000 more are in the pipeline, "and that should be enough" if all arrive and are distributed. But he issued an urgent appeal for stoves to help keep people warm.
Aid workers in the disaster zone still face a logistical nightmare with countless high-country settlements cut off by landslides that blocked or swept away roads, and money to keep a fleet of relief helicopters in the air fast running out.
Every day the weather gets colder, with rain and snow forecast in areas over 2,000 metres in coming days. "I’ve never seen a situation where so much has to be done in such a short time," said Pat Duggan, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Muzaffarabad. Shelter, food and medical care are the priorities.
A UN official overseeing logistics, Matthew Hollingworth, said the relief operation had enough helicopters to do the job-close to 100 are involved-but the question was the money to keep them in the air. "We still require the resources in order to keep these helicopters flying," he said.
Throughout the disaster zone disease is on the increase but no major outbreak of epidemics have been reported. "The number one thing that we are now seeing is acute respiratory infections," said Rachel Lavy of the UN World Health Organisation. "That’s obviously a sign of the coming winter and viral diseases-coughs and colds spreading around. "There is also a concern about diarrhoeal illnesses." The Health Ministry says there have been nearly 9,000 cases of acute respiratory infections, including pneumonia, more than 6,000 cases of diarrhoea, 1,130 cases of dysentery and 139 cases of tetanus, of whom 41 have died.
Meanwhile, the UNFPA warned that some 17,000 earthquake-affected women in Pakistan are expected to give birth in the next two months. An estimated 1,200 will face major complications and about 400 will require surgical assistance.
Death toll hits 87,350
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has increased the official death toll from the devastating earthquake that hit the north of the country a month ago to 87,350, with nearly 100,000 injured, the United Nations said on Tuesday. UN spokeswoman Amanda Pitt said the figures were provided by the Federal Relief Commission, the government body coordinating a massive aid effort. An official of the commission said he could not immediately comment. The News
"We have desperate need for much wider access to hundreds of thousands of people in remote valleys and on high plateaux in Azad Kashmir, near the demarcation line," WFP spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume told a news briefing. "If we could establish a land route from India (held Kashmir), it would allow us to save thousands of lives," she said.
The Rome-based World Food Programme is taking a leading role in the financially strapped UN effort to distribute supplies and tents in the quake area before the severe Himalayan winter grips the region. "With the winter coming on rapidly, it is crucial to get to these people rapidly. Many of them have had no help at all since the quake struck a month ago," Berthiaume said, adding "We are in a race against the clock to get food stocks in place."
Both the UN’s coordination body for humanitarian affairs OCHA and the global Red Cross/Red Crescent body say they are in desperate need of cash for their quake aid operations, in which helicopters play a key role.
Chief UN emergency coordinator Jan Vandemoortele told a news conference that "one month on, the scale of the disaster is still emerging, the casualty numbers are still going up and we have not reached the final number yet. But progress is for real ... Perhaps for the first time since October 8 there is a sense of cautious optimism in the humanitarian community. The job is colossal, but there’s a feeling it’s a doable job. It’s not mission impossible."
Funds and materials were flowing in, he said. "We see that the pipeline is gradually becoming a reality in terms of money and in terms of deliverables-the tents, the blankets." "Our objective is to keep people alive ... If we can keep the momentum, we will be ready for the winter," he added.
"I’ve never seen a situation where so much has to be done in such a short time," said Pat Duggan, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Muzaffarabad. IOM official Chris Lom said 373,000 tents had been delivered and 127,000 were on the way. "We don’t need to order any more family tents at this point," Lom said. Although bigger communal tents for schools and clinics were needed, he said. "The number one thing that we are now seeing is acute respiratory infections," said Rachel Lavy of the UN World Health Organisation. "That’s obviously a sign of the coming winter and viral diseases-coughs and colds spreading around. "There is also a concern about diarrhoeal illnesses."
The Health Ministry says there have been nearly 9,000 cases of acute respiratory infec tions, including pneumonia, more than 6,000 cases of diarrhoea, 1,130 cases of dysentery and 139 cases of tetanus, of whom 41 have died.
"What is particularly difficult in Kashmir is that people (will) freeze to death if they don’t get assistance in weeks," UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland said overnight in New York. "It’s even more urgent than it was in these other hurricanes or tsunamis." Egeland urged everyone from individuals to oil-rich nations to contribute.
Egeland said the UN has launched "Operation Winter Race" to bring shelter to about 200,000 people living at high altitudes above the snow line in the rugged Himalayas and about 150,000 expected to come down to tent camps at lower elevations. "The concept is one warm room per family before it becomes too cold," he said. Egeland said he was encouraged that 334,000 tents have been delivered and that 332,000 more are in the pipeline, "and that should be enough" if all arrive and are distributed. But he issued an urgent appeal for stoves to help keep people warm.
Aid workers in the disaster zone still face a logistical nightmare with countless high-country settlements cut off by landslides that blocked or swept away roads, and money to keep a fleet of relief helicopters in the air fast running out.
Every day the weather gets colder, with rain and snow forecast in areas over 2,000 metres in coming days. "I’ve never seen a situation where so much has to be done in such a short time," said Pat Duggan, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Muzaffarabad. Shelter, food and medical care are the priorities.
A UN official overseeing logistics, Matthew Hollingworth, said the relief operation had enough helicopters to do the job-close to 100 are involved-but the question was the money to keep them in the air. "We still require the resources in order to keep these helicopters flying," he said.
Throughout the disaster zone disease is on the increase but no major outbreak of epidemics have been reported. "The number one thing that we are now seeing is acute respiratory infections," said Rachel Lavy of the UN World Health Organisation. "That’s obviously a sign of the coming winter and viral diseases-coughs and colds spreading around. "There is also a concern about diarrhoeal illnesses." The Health Ministry says there have been nearly 9,000 cases of acute respiratory infections, including pneumonia, more than 6,000 cases of diarrhoea, 1,130 cases of dysentery and 139 cases of tetanus, of whom 41 have died.
Meanwhile, the UNFPA warned that some 17,000 earthquake-affected women in Pakistan are expected to give birth in the next two months. An estimated 1,200 will face major complications and about 400 will require surgical assistance.
Death toll hits 87,350
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has increased the official death toll from the devastating earthquake that hit the north of the country a month ago to 87,350, with nearly 100,000 injured, the United Nations said on Tuesday. UN spokeswoman Amanda Pitt said the figures were provided by the Federal Relief Commission, the government body coordinating a massive aid effort. An official of the commission said he could not immediately comment. The News
posted by zaicha | Thursday, November 10, 2005
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