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NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 30 – Kenya’s envoy in Pakistan on Thursday handed over more than 100 tonnes of foodstuff donated by companies and well wishers in Kenya towards more than 20 million people affected by floods in Pakistan.
Kenya’s High Commissioner in the capital Islamabad, Mishi Mwatsahu, handed over the assortment of canned beef, powder milk, tea and coffee, mostly donated by the Kenyan government and several businessmen.
While making the donation to the Chairman of the National Disaster management committee, Brigadier S Naeem, Mrs Mwatsahu expressed her sympathy with the millions of people displaced by the floods, and informed that the donations shall go a long way in extending the good relations between Kenya and Pakistan.
“I extend the sympathy from the Government and people of Kenya to the people of Pakistan, and wish the Government of Pakistan success as it enters into the critical stage of rebuilding and reconstruction in the flood disaster areas,” she said.
The disaster was the worst of its kind in more than 80 years. More than 2.5 million people mainly peasant farmers have been displaced while another 2,000 have lost their lives. The floods covered one thirds of land mass in Pakistan.
During the donation at the Airforce Base in Islamabad, Mrs Mwatsahu was accompanied by officials from the Kenyan High Commission including Siat Osman (the Head of Chancery), and Anthony Kiriba (the First Secretary).
The floods disaster in Pakistan has tipped the scales of disasters world-wide, affecting more millions than the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and the devastating earthquake in Haiti early this year.
Starting July 2010, the floods wreaked havoc in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan regions of Pakistan, following unusually heavy monsoon rains.
Despite constant appeals by the United Nations and various celebrities, the money collected from the international community was not near enough to cover the scale of the disaster.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had asked for an initial $460 million for emergency relief, but only more than half that amount has been donated.
The World Health Organisation has reported that thousands fell ill after being forced to drink filthy water and the Pakistani economy is buckling after extensive damage to infrastructure and crops.
According to reports, structural damages are estimated to exceed $4 billion and wheat crop damages are estimated to be over $500 million USD.
Officials estimate the total economic impact to be as much as $43 billion USD.
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