One in 10 Pakistanis Affected - 20 Million Flood Victims - 3.5 Million Children at Risk of Deadly Water-Borne Diseases - A THIRD of Pakistan Submerged Under Water

News provided by

Helping Hand for Relief and Development

Aug 18, 2010, 12:15 ET

SOMERSET, N.J., Aug. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Sunday that amongst all the natural disasters he has witnessed, he has never seen anything like the disaster that has occurred due to the floods in Pakistan. The floods of Pakistan 2010 have been recorded as the worst natural disaster in the history.

After analysis of the situation in Pakistan, Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD) has raised the appeal to $5 million.

Up to 20 million people, nearly one in 10 Pakistanis, has been affected in some capacity by the floods.

Helping Hand for Relief and Development is running medical relief camps in 13 locations and distributing free medication. Everyday more than 500 patients are receiving treatment and medicines at HHRD's medical camps.

HHRD is also a salient part of the health cluster for the flood victims of Pakistan of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Children and families are hungry and desperate for help. There is an immense amount of aid being sent to Pakistan but the magnitude of the disaster requires a lot more effort from the international community.

Dr. Fozia Aziz, a health coordinator of Helping Hand for Relief and Development in Islamabad, said that there is an urgent need to provide safe drinking water and hygienic conditions to stop the spread of diseases; water-borne bacteria and illness have become a serious concern.

"We are conducting a number of medical camps all over Pakistan. Acute diarrhea cases are among the most common ailments and our health workers are providing proper treatment…We are also giving advice to the local communities on measures to be taken to prevent and minimize the spread of disease," Dr. Fozia said, adding that several suspected cases of cholera and malaria have been reported.

One-fifth of the country is underwater and 900,000 homes have been damaged. Helping Hand for Relief and Development is providing tents to those who have been forced to leave their houses and all their belongings have been washed away by the floods.

The worst is yet to come; the monsoon season is only half over.

Currently HHRD is actively providing emergency relief across the country.

See map: http://www.hhrd.pk/index-map-lw.html

Helping Hand for Relief and Development is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) tax exempt organization. Tax ID# 31-1628040.

To donate please visit www.hhrd.org or call 1-888-808-4357(HELP).

Contact information:

Azmat Akbar - Program Officer: Emergency Response HHRD Pakistan: +92-336-9297418

Fazlur Rahman - Country Director - Pakistan – HHRD Pakistan: +92-334-5132877

SOURCE Helping Hand for Relief and Development