France at forefront of providing assistance to flood victims in Pakistan: envoy

ISLAMABAD: France that has been in forefront for providing assistance to the flood victims in Pakistan and in a further expression of support to flood-affected communities, has allocated one million Euro to three French International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) for relief operations for a total of ninety thousand beneficiaries in three provinces.

French ambassador to Pakistan Nicolas Galey while overviewing of the French assistance to flood-affected populations in Pakistan here on Tuesday, talking to a group of senior media-persons maintained that following the unprecedented floods that hit Pakistan, the French President Emmanuel Macron had wished to mark the solidarity of France and the French people with the people of Pakistan.

The French envoy recalled that in consultation with the Pakistani authorities, France quickly dispatched emergency equipment and military experts from the French civil security service to the field to assist in relief operation and respond to urgent humanitarian needs. Ambassador Nicolas Galey said that on September 3, a special chartered flight arrived in Karachi, carrying emergency equipment (including 83 high-capacity water pumps and more than 200 tents, as well as other non-food items) and a military medical team consisting of 4 doctors and 4 nurses, as well as a military team of 4 technicians to operate the water pumps.

The French medical team remained on the ground for two weeks in Badin district in Sindh, working alongside their Pakistani colleagues from the Badin military hospital, to provide hundreds of medical consultations each day. As for the team of trainers, it was able to train more than 50 Pakistani technicians in the use of water pumps.

The ambassador said that forty French civil security experts were deployed in Dadu district in Sindh to operate water purification equipment brought directly from France in between October 5 to November 7. The military team provided six hundred thousand liters of drinking water to the local communities (One thousand beneficiaries a day).

As an indication of support towards the reconstruction of flood-affected areas, France provided a 50-meter-long Bailey-type bridge that will soon be deployed by the Pakistani authorities in Sindh district, he said. The French envoy made it clear that the operations were being carried out within the framework of the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (EUCPM).

In a further expression of support to flood-affected communities, France allocated one million euro to three French International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) for relief operations for a total of 90000 beneficiaries in 3 provinces. He said that the Action Against Hunger (ACF) for an integrated project combining health, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), agriculture, food security and livelihood for close to thirty thousand beneficiaries in the districts of Kambar Shadadkot and Khairpur in Sindh.

Secours Islamique France (SIF) provided a multi-sectoral emergency assistance to forty thousand beneficiaries in the districts of Quetta, Killa Saifullah, Pishin and Lasbela, in Balochistan. Médecins du Monde (MDM) involved for the deployment of three mobile health teams, for twenty thousand beneficiaries, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (districts of Nowshera, Charsadda and Chitral).

Ambassador Nicolas said that the French government has also allocated one million euros to the World Food Programme (WFP) for an integrated Nutrition – Safety Net Programme for pregnant and lactating women in the districts of Qambar Shahdadkot and Khairpur in Sindh. This programme will provide emergency food assistance, life-saving nutrition preventive packages, and cash grants to 5400 direct beneficiaries, and 32400 household members.

Finally, beyond public assistance, a number of French companies also contributed to support flood-stricken communities including Total, Bureau Veritas and others, through direct donations or contributions to non-profit organisations to provide immediate support to rehabilitation activities. Ambassador Nicolas assured that France would continue to provide relief to flood hit people of Pakistan till they are settled back to their homes.