PAKISTAN: Only half of survivors in dire need receive food aid

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

MUZAFFARABAD, 16 Oct 2005 (IRIN) - More than a week after the earthquake that devastated northern Pakistan, only half the survivors in dire need of food supplies have been reached, relief officials said.

The earthquake on 8 October, measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, affected up to four million people, of whom one million were severely affected and in desperate need of help, especially food aid, according to the UN.

Keith Ursel, head of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) operation in Muzaffarabad, on Saturday said: “Looking at what we’ve done and what others have over the past few days, I would say we are somewhere halfway. But that’s a really rough estimate.”

The regional tremor left more than 38,000 dead, 60,000 injured and about 3.3 million homeless, the Pakistan government said. More than 100 international and national relief organisations have been delivering relief to survivors.

The WFP has started giving emergency food rations to thousands of people in Muzaffarabad, one of the cities worst hit by the earthquake, the WFP said in a statement on Thursday. “Some 12,000 people have so far received a two-day ration of high-energy biscuits, which covers their nutritional needs,” it stated.

A WFP convoy carrying 30 mt of biscuits arrived in Muzaffarabad on Wednesday night after traveling for more than 12 hours along mountain roads and tracks choked with traffic and lined with people clamouring for assistance.

On Friday, the WFP began expanding its food distribution to mountain villages in the area. Operations were hampered, however, by severe damage to roads and landslides, with many areas still accessible only by air.

Trucks loaded with biscuits traveled in several directions from Muzaffarabad in an effort to reach as many people as possible in villages that have received little or no assistance, the WFP said.

Donated items, particularly food and warm clothing, continued to arrive from across the country. However, “most of the distributions are reaching only main villages and towns located near major roads which are open. But a lot of roads are completely cut off, making it impossible to reach the people there,” Ursel said.

Given the difficulties in reaching outlying areas, the WFP aims to deploy about 12 helicopters in coming days for food distribution. The Pakistan army has been working overtime to clear damaged roads but landslides continue to hamper their efforts.

“During [December’s] tsunami, we accessed people mostly by ship and by landing aircraft, but here the scene is different. In many ways, this is more difficult,” the WFP official said.

“Until the next harvest, people need to be provided with food supplies here, as they have lost almost everything - their livestock, their houses and farms,” he added. “Whatever can be done is being done. Even if we had more helicopters there is not much landing space.”

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