Canadian Foodgrains Bank Responds to Flooding in Pakistan with over $2 Million in Food Aid
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Plans are underway for food kits to be distributed to 11,000 households affected by severe flooding in Pakistan.
With
hundreds of thousands of homes already destroyed in what National
Management Authority is calling “the worst disaster in Pakistan’s
history” people in Pakistan are in immediate need of basic necessities.
Canadian Foodgrains Bank is responding to food needs through
Church World Service - Pakistan/Afghanistan and
Interfaith League Against Poverty who will distribute food kits containing rice, lentils, flour, oil, sugar, salt, tea, and spices.
Since
heavy monsoon rains began falling in northern Pakistan on 21 July 2010,
it is estimated that 1,500 people have died and 12 million have been
affected by the severe floods. These numbers are expected to rise as
rain and flooding continue across Pakistan.
According to Jim
Cornelius, Executive Director of Canadian Foodgrains Bank “agricultural
and crop lands have been severely damaged as a result of flooding,
particularly in Punjab province, where much of the country’s grain is
grown. This damage will negatively impact food security in the area
especially for families directly affected by the floods”.
Food
prices have significantly increased due to both flooding and the coming
of Ramadan. It is expected that the price for green vegetables will
double. These price hikes will put vulnerable households in increased
danger of hunger and malnutrition.
Christian Reformed World Relief Canada (CRWRC) and
Presbyterian World Service & Development (PWS&D),
both members of the Foodgrains Bank, are working with local partners in
Pakistan to distribute the food to vulnerable households in Balochistan
province and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, some of the worst affected
areas.
Church World Service - Pakistan/Afghanistan and
Interfaith League Against Poverty are reliable partners who have worked
with CRWRC and PWS&D in response to last year’s displacement crisis
in Pakistan and the 2005 earthquake.
This response is generously funded by the Canadian International Development Agency and donors to the Foodgrains Bank.
Canadian
Baptist Ministries, Emergency Relief & Development Overseas,
Mennonite Central Committee Canada, Primate’s World Relief &
Development Fund, and World Relief Canada, have also contributed funds
from their Foodgrains Bank accounts for this relief effort.
Click here to donate to Pakistan flood relief.Photo credit: Church World Service - Pakistan/Afghanistan
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