ADRA Sending Medical Aid to Flooded

Communities in Pakistan
Thursday, August 19, 2010

For more information, contact:

John Torres, Senior Public Relations Manager 301.680.6357

(office) 301.680.6370 (fax) John.Torres@adra.org

SILVER SPRING, Md. — As the humanitarian situation continues to

deteriorate in Pakistan following heavy monsoon rains, the Adventist
Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is sending medical teams to
some of the worst affected areas in the north, agency officials report.

ADRA’s response is targeting the Khyber-Pakhtunkwa Province’s

Nowshera District, an area located northwest of the capital Islamabad
that has experienced some of the heaviest flooding so far. As part of
the intervention, ADRA plans to mobilize medical teams of doctors,
nurses, and paramedics to local school, hospitals, and community
centers. Site locations will be selected in collaboration with local and
tribal authorities as well as the Pakistani army, which is also
supporting the response efforts.

As waters in affected areas have become contaminated, medical

responders are likely to treat many cases of diarrhea, fever, skin
diseases, and eye infections, in addition to malaria and flu, paying
special attention to the most vulnerable, including the elderly,
pregnant women, and children. In the following weeks, health
education will also be undertaken in schools to raise awareness
regarding water-borne diseases and ways to treat those affected by
them. This emergency response is expected to last two months and
will benefit an area with an estimated population of 200,000 residents.

Funders for this US$139,000 response include ADRA International,

ADRA Switzerland, ADRA Australia, ADRA Denmark, ADRA Germany,
ADRA Norway, ADRA Sweden, ADRA United Kingdom, ADRA France,
ADRA Canada, ADRA Austria, ADRA Netherlands, ADRA New Zealand,
ADRA Portugal, ADRA Finland, and ADRA Korea.

According to the Pakistani government, 1,475 people have died,

almost 1 million houses have been reported either damaged or
destroyed, and 15.4 million people have been affected by the flooding.
An ongoing threat flooding could further affect low-lying areas in the
south.

Ongoing conflict in the border areas near Afghanistan has intensified

the insecurity in much of the country, posing challenges for responding
agencies. Floodwaters now cover approximately one-fifth of the
country, report government officials. The loss of livestock, crops,
homes, infrastructure, and transportation systems will further hamper
long-term recovery efforts, and will adversely affect already
impoverished areas.

More information will be provided as the response continues.

To send your contribution to ADRA’s Emergency Response Fund,

please contact ADRA at 1.800.424.ADRA (2372) or give online at
www.adra.org.

Follow ADRA on Twitter and Facebook to get the latest information as

it happens.
ADRA is a global non-governmental organization providing sustainable
community development and disaster relief without regard to political
or religious association, age, gender, race or ethnicity.

For more information about ADRA, visit www.adra.org.