UAE helps flood victims in Pakistan

Islamabad: The UAE Project to Assist Pakistan is carrying out various developmental projects in Pakistan at a cost of $100 million (Dh365 million) to help provide a dignified life for people affected by the floods.

The projects are part of the initiative launched by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said Abdullah Khalifa Al Gafli, Head of the UAE Project to Assist Pakistan. He said that projects are being carried out in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the Bajaur area and South Waziristan.

He added they have put in place a comprehensive plan to achieve and implement these projects that serve the residents of these areas. The projects include the building of roads, bridges, and educational and health care institutions.

Homeless

Al Gafli said that the projects are progressing on schedule and work has already begun on 98 per cent of 51 educational projects, and 85 per cent of 64 water-related projects. He also added 75 per cent of work on the Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Bridge has been completed, and that it will be inaugurated later this year, while work on the Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan bridge, the longest bridge over the Swat River, is going according to schedule and expected to be completed in August 2012.

Al Gafli indicated that the administration of the UAE Project to Assist Pakistan will soon announce a number of health care projects for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and South Waziristan to ensure health care for the residents of these areas, especially women and children, who are suffering from a lack of medical care due to a lack of hospitals and specialised clinics.

Meanwhile, the UAE relief team intensified efforts to distribute emergency relief aid to people affected by the floods in the Sindh province of Pakistan, as per the directives of Shaikh Khalifa.

The team distributed aid for people in UAE relief camps in 14 villages in the Tando Mohammad Khan District in Sindh Province, which currently houses 700 families left homeless by the floods.

The UAE relief team stated they will spread the distribution of aid to other flooded districts in the Sindh Province, which were pointed out to the relief team by civil authorities and military responsible for relief-related affairs.

The team also pointed out that starting from today, they will begin the distribution of relief supplies to the Sanghar District and Mirpur Khas, adding they have taken extra care in ensuring the quality of the food and specifications of tents.

The convoys, which will be heading to the camps from Karachi, will be loaded with tents and other aid, and the team said they will ensure their quick delivery. The team also pointed out that during the next phase, they will study the damage incurred by people who were left homeless and lost their livestock and crops to the flood, and the possibility of restoring their lives back to normalcy.