The human cost of Syria’s conflict has risen beyond all expectations. There are already more than 1.3 million Syrian refugees in neighboring countries.
International agency Oxfam today urged donors to contribute generously to the aid efforts in Sri Lanka. The UN Flash Appeal, to be officially launched later today, will support the Government’s response to the massive floods that have affected the eastern and central parts of the country.
Many people are returning to their homes in flood-hit Sri Lanka but the humanitarian challenge has only just begun. Oxfam will be scaling up its response to the disaster in the next few days to reach 120,000 people in the Eastern and North Central Provinces.
Three months after floods devastated Pakistan, cases of disease are increasing and in the worst-hit region, the southern province of Sindh, large areas remain underwater. At the same time, funds for the UN flood appeal are drying up and threatening the aid and reconstruction effort.
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.
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.
More than 1.3 million people are displaced, dependant on emergency relief to survive. But dwindling contributions from the international community are forcing humanitarian organizations to close programs.
Less than a third of people living in one of the largest camps in Port au Prince say that they are willing to move to camps sited outside the city according to a snap-shot survey carried out by international agency Oxfam.