|
11th
September 2005
UNHCR relief supplies bound for earthquake victims trucked
to affected areas
GENEVA, October 11 (UNHCR) – Urgently needed relief supplies
for earthquake victims in Pakistan are being trucked from the UN
refugee agency's warehouse in Peshawar to the badly affected area
of Mansehra in North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Reports of refugee
casualties and damage in the area remain sketchy and a UNHCR doctor
and field assistant have been dispatched to assess the situation
in the camps.
"We have begun the distribution of tonnes of urgently needed
relief supplies for the earthquake victims, sending family tents,
hospital tents, plastic sheeting, mattresses, kitchen sets and other
items from our warehouse in Peshawar," UNHCR's spokesperson
Ron Redmond told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday in Geneva.
The refugee agency announced Monday it would initially distribute
supplies for 100,000 people using existing stocks from its warehouses
in Pakistan as well as elsewhere in the region. The first truckloads
of supplies for the earthquake victims bound for Mansehra in North
West Frontier Province loaded up and left UNHCR's Peshawar warehouse
the same day.
"We are now receiving reports that Afghan refugees are among
the dead in the Mansehra district, where there are nearly 45,000
Afghan refugees in four camps in an area where entire villages have
reportedly been flattened," said Redmond. Details of deaths
and injuries to the refugees and damage to the camps remain sketchy
at this stage, hampered by poor communications and blocked access.
"A UNHCR doctor and field assistant left on mission to Mansehra
Tuesday to assess damage and needs in camps. More teams will follow
once road conditions improve," Redmond said.
With 11 offices and more than 420 staff, UNHCR has emergency stockpiles
available in Pakistan – from our warehouses in Peshawar and
Quetta – and in neighbouring Afghanistan.
"But until roads can be repaired, we will need the help of
helicopters to get aid to the most affected areas. North West Frontier
Province, one of the areas affected by the earthquake, hosts 887,000
Afghan refugees in several camps," Redmond told journalists.
UNHCR's emergency and logistics staff are also looking into the
possibility of providing additional supplies from our global relief
stockpiles further afield, including in Dubai, Jordan, Copenhagen
and elsewhere.
"All of these supplies would need to be replenished quickly,
however, so UNHCR can meet any other emergency demands and contingencies.
This would mean additional funds would be needed from donors,"
Redmond said.
UNHCR has worked in Pakistan for some 25 years and is currently
involved in the repatriation of more than 3.5 million Afghan refugees.
|
