Pakistan: UN offers assistance for tens of thousands of flood victims

United Nations agencies are rushing assistance to Pakistan where heavy winter snowfall and subsequent unprecedented high temperatures have generated major flooding in northern and north-western regions, threatening some 45,000 people with hunger.

The provincial government of North West Frontier Province has appealed to donors and UN organizations for help in providing relief and rehabilitation, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today.

The UN Disaster Management Team (UNDMT) has formed sectoral groups to assess specific needs and address issues of immediate concern in food, water and sanitation, health, shelter and livestock and agriculture.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has dispatched a relief package and the UN World Health Organization (WHO) provided three new Emergency Health Kits, which are sufficient for emergency health needs of 30,000 people for three months.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) estimates immediate food support is needed for one month for 39,360 people in North West Frontier Province and for 5,000 more in Northern Areas. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) cites a need for feeding and de-worming of livestock affected by the floods.