floods

EU heads of state agreed today to temporarily reduce tariffs on a number of key Pakistani products as soon as possible, and find a way to bring Pakistan into the EU's special trade benefits

International development organizations Oxfam, Plan, Eurodad and Concern Worldwide called today on EU leaders, meeting tomorrow for the first time to examine Europe’s role as a global power, to shift gear in their response to Pakistan.

Award winning photographer Alixandra Fazzina has recently travelled to some of the worst hit areas in Pakistan where she saw first hand the devastation caused by the floods. She photographed families in Pakistan and in the UK to document how they were spending the holy month of Ramadan.

Oxfam today warned of a public health catastrophe in flood-hit Pakistan. While funding had stalled in recent weeks, the number of cases of reported disease, numbers of people displaced, and numbers of people affected by the floods continue to rise each day.

The IMF will issue a $450 million loan to Pakistan which risks plunging Pakistan into debt that it can ill-afford. Oxfam is calling for the cancellation of all multilateral and bilateral loans to Pakistan, and for debt relief to be given on emergency assistance from the IMF.

World champion boxer Amir Khan is in Pakistan where he met families made homeless by the devastating floods and took part in an Oxfam distribution of aid.

One month after the floods first reached disastrous levels in Pakistan, the waters continue to rise. Many areas are still cut off and millions of people are in desperate need of immediate help. Reconstruction efforts must begin immediately to avoid devastating long-term consequences for the country.

Kristalina Georgieva, European Humanitarian Commissioner, today visited Pakistan to see the effect of the devastating floods on the country. More than 17 million people are now affected by the floods – in an area that now constitutes the world's largest freshwater lake.

Floods and heavy rains across Niger have destroyed crops less than two months before harvest, compounding the country's existing food crisis. Flooding has killed at least six people, left thousands homeless, ruined crops and forced hungry families to crisis point.

As the world's leaders gathered for a special session of the General Assembly in New York, Oxfam urged the international community to avoid grand gestures and take immediate action to get aid to those affected by the Pakistani floods.