Expats pitch in with supplies for Pakistan, but more needed

DUBAI // The first container of aid for flood-ravaged Pakistan is to leave Dubai tonight, but officials warn that more supplies are urgently needed. Expatriates from Palestine, India, Sri Lanka and Britain have pitched in with the aid effort by donating blankets, medicine and food, according to the Pakistan Association Dubai (Pad).

Mohammed Sahi, Pad's president, said the Sri Lankan consulate had sent a lorry full of medical supplies to treat diseases that could result from the flooding - such as malaria, cholera and typhoid. "We need people to come forward with clothes that they would use themselves and medicines that they would give their children," Mr Sahi said. "We need a lot more help, more people to come forward as volunteers to help with packing and sorting."

According to the United Nations, four million people have been affected by the floods, with around 1,500 declared dead so far. However, Inayat ur Rahman, Pad's acting general secretary, said most people were unaware of the full extent of the devastation. "Our appeal goes out to everyone, all residents and Pakistani nationals," he said. "The [Pakistan] government should have made it clearer and issued bigger appeals."

Piles of mattresses and blankets and cartons of mango, guava and orange juice were stacked up in the foyer of Pad's office on Oud Mehta Road. A small group of volunteers were busy packing clothes and medicines into cartons for a second container being readied for dispatch. A Palestinian businessman from Ajman contributed more than 100 mattresses and clothing, while an Indian woman from Sharjah donated three cartons of medicines and baby food.

"If people come forward to sponsor one family for a month it would help those left with nothing," said Mr Sahi, who visited several flooded villages near the city of Peshawar. It would cost Dh500 to provide a family of six with flour, sugar, rice, cooking oil, tea and milk for a month. The association said it had received more than Dh200,000 in cash donations. Some 40 camps distributing free medical aid had been set up in the Pakhtoonkwa, Punjab and Sind districts of northern and central Pakistan.

"We are sending out a renewed appeal for money, medicine and food through the media, television and radio," Mr Sahi said. "Families are living on the roadside. They are exposed to the sun above and the flood water in front. People were climbing onto rooftops with their documents because the entire house was flooded." Oral antibiotics, water purifying tablets and antibiotic gauze and creams were high on Pad's list of essentials. Antihistamine drugs, cough syrup, oral rehydrating salts, asthma inhalers and paracetamol syrups such as Calpol were also needed. The most-essential food items were dry milk, baby food, sugar, flour and cooking oil. Pad also asked for people to donate such items as blankets, tents, pressed pillows, disposable diapers, umbrellas, namaz mats, torches, plastic buckets and mugs.

The Pad office is open from 9am to 9pm for donations. [e-mail]