Widespread destruction and large numbers of injured
Malteser International is preparing initial flood relief measures for the population of the district of Chitral, in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, who have been strongly affected by heavy rain and flooding. Malteser International will support the health authorities of the district, which neighbours Afghanistan, by providing medication, hygiene and baby kits, mosquito nets, water purification tablets, information material and personnel.
“Almost 80% of the district is under water;” Hubert Topinka – Malteser International’s Country Coordinator in Pakistan reports. “The population is suffering from diarrhoea, skin conditions, malaria and fever. Medications, mosquito nets and clean drinking water are an urgent need. An uncounted number of people have been injured by the rising water, or by debris from the damage it caused.
Malteser International provided relief in Pakistan following the monsoon floods of 2010 and 2011, and supported rebuilding efforts. The organisation has been active in the country since the severe earthquake in 2005, and returned to work in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in 2013 - principally to provide support for Pakistani displaced persons and refugees from Afghanistan with financial support from Germany’s Federal Foreign Office.