11 August 2010 - The Government of Afghanistan, with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), today sent aid for the flood-affected victims of northwest Pakistan, which has been ravaged by heavy rain and rising waters since last week.

Following approval of government officials, UNICEF sent about 35,000 kg of high-energy biscuits (HEB) and 5,250 kg of oral rehydration salts (ORS) to its office in the capital city of Islamabad to be distributed to the affected communities around Pakistan.

“Our office in Islamabad got back to us identifying the need for biscuits and rehydrations salts. We got in touch with the UN Resident Coordinator [Robert Watkins] to obtain permission from the Government to re-export supplies we originally got into the country for Afghanistan to send to Pakistan,” said Peter Crowley, UNICEF Representative for Afghanistan.

UNICEF, however, insists that the aid given to Pakistan will not compromise its ability to respond to emergencies in Afghanistan.

“We have been careful to make sure we have enough stock here to be able to cover potential needs in Afghanistan. Also, we have enough stock and supplies on the way to Afghanistan within the next few weeks. We are confident of covering needs here and offering support to our colleagues in Pakistan,” said Crowley.

Meanwhile, UN agencies continue to disperse aid through the Afghan National Disaster Management Agency (ANDMA) in areas of Afghanistan hit by floods in recent weeks.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) provided the worst-hit central areas with a three-month supply of food rations, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

In Afghanistan’s north, UNICEF and the International Organization on Migration (IOM) provided 10,000 water purification tablets, 150 family survival kits, blankets, jerry cans, clothing and emergency tents.

UNICEF, WFP, IOM, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN World Health Organization (WHO) are coordinating efforts in the south to provide food and non-food iteams, including clothes for children and hand pumps to provide clean drinking water.

“Fortunately, we had propositioned supplies with our government partners at the beginning of July in anticipation of emergencies. We therefore had supplies on the ground to respond to this flood emergency and began its distribution to the affected communities,” Crowley added.

By Aditya Mehta, UNAMA