Pakistan
Watch a film about our work in response to the Pakistan floods.
Pakistan has experienced unprecedented flooding, devastating earthquakes and an ongoing conflict in the country’s north in recent years. Flooding since July 2011 has affected nearly 6 million people, leaving many without adequate food, water and emergency shelter.
Worse still, the flooding hit many people who were still recovering from the 2010 floods which covered an area the size of England, killed nearly 2,000 people, and ruined a further 20 million lives. Pakistan is one of the most disaster-prone country in the world.
To add to the difficulties facing the country, the security situation has become increasingly volatile, with recent bombings and direct attacks from armed militants on the humanitarian community. It’s widely recognised that this instability is the greatest challenge to relief efforts.
This makes access for international NGOs to affected populations difficult. A growing number of local NGOs are therefore delivering aid to ensure immediate needs are met, including shelter, water and sanitation.
Since early 2010 we’ve been providing training to scores of aid workers, humanitarian organisations and government agencies not only in skills needed to deal with current emergencies, but also for future disasters, known as ‘disaster risk reduction.’
Our Pakistan office is based in Islamabad in Pakistan.
Pakistan Programme
We set up our new training programme in Islamabad in March 2010. This followed a previous programme established five years earlier in response to the massive earthquake that struck the country.
We've trained almost 900 aid workers in Pakistan last year – the vast majority of them Pakistani nationals, ensuring skills remain in country where they’re needed most.
We run courses in everything from the essentials of humanitarian practice; to the latest processes for coordinating humanitarian projects, to vital security training to keep aid workers safe and ensure humanitarian delivery continues even in the most dangerous of situations.
Pakistan news
- Pakistan floods, one year on: "Tell the world we're not terrorists"
- Pakistan floods, one year on: Misery and desperation in the land of Sufis
- Pakistan floods, one year on: One man's story of survival
- Pakistan floods, one year on: Lack of local humanitarian skills continues to hinder recovery
- Pakistan floods, one year on: The disaster that won't recede
