Helfer warnen vor Gesundheitskatastrophe

Flut in Pakistan

Helfer warnen vor Gesundheitskatastrophe

03.08.2010, 14:43 Uhr • Lesezeit: 2 Minuten

A boy fleeing from flooded village eats his food handout in a makeshift relief camp in Sukkur at Pakistan's Sindh province August 10, 2010. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari returned home on Tuesday from official foreign visits to a chorus of criticism over his government's response to the country's worst flooding in 80 years. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro (PAKISTAN - Tags: DISASTER ENVIRONMENT) © REUTERS | REUTERS

A Pakistani villagers rests as his house was submerged by flood water in Ghazi Ghat near Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2010. President Asif Ali Zardari returned Tuesday to flood-ravaged Pakistan, where he faced a storm of criticism for visiting Europe as his country was gripped by what his government called the nation's worst natural disaster.(AP Photo/Shiekh Saleem Raza) © AP | AP

Pakistan army soldiers distribute food relief among flood survivors in Sukkar, Pakistan on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2010. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari returned Tuesday to flood-ravaged Pakistan, where he faced a storm of criticism for visiting Europe as his country was gripped by what his government called the nation's worst natural disaster. (AP Photo/Pervez Masih) © AP | AP

Pakistani flood survivors shift household items at the flooded area of Gulabad on August 4, 2010. Devastating floods have swept away farmland and devastated livestock in Pakistan's northwest, costing farmers millions of dollars and sparking demands for government compensation. The land was some of the most fertile in the country: rich soil nurtured sugarcane, maize, tobacco and vegetables, fed communities and carpeted a lush landscape watered by gushing rivers and framed by mountains. AFP PHOTO/Farooq NAEEM © AFP | AFP

Crew members of a Chinese plane walk next to relief goods donated by China at Chaklala airbase in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010. China has sent emergency humanitarian relief consist of water flirtation equipments, medicines, electric generators and tents for Pakistani flood victims. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed) © AP | AP

Pakistani Army rescue flood victims in Kot Addu, in southern Punjab, Pakistan on 03 August 2010. More than 1000 people across Pakistan have been killed and hundreds of thousands stranded due to flash floods trigerred by the the ongoing spell of monsoon rains. EPA/MK CHAUDHRY +++(c) dpa - Bildfunk+++ © dpa/DPA | dpa

NOWSHERA, PAKISTAN - AUGUST 3: People line up to receive water relief supplies from a local charity on August 3, 2010 in Pabi near to Nowshera, Pakistan. Residents, in dire need of basic relief supplies like water and food, continued to forage through their belongings affected by the country's worst floods since 1929, according to officials. Heavy monsoon rains have triggered severe, deadly flooding in Northwest Pakistan, claiming the lives of more than 1,100 people and forcing thousands from their homes. The United Nations estimates that around one million people nationwide are affected by the disaster. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images) *** BEST PIX *** © Getty Images/Getty | Getty Images

A Pakistani flood survivor carries a mat in a waterlogged area of Nowshera on August 3, 2010. Pakistan faced the risk of a public health disaster August 3 with up to 3.2 million people hit by the worst floods in generations as anger grew among survivors complaining they have been abandoned by the government. TOPSHOTS AFP PHOTO/A MAJEED © AFP | AFP

A man stands up to request aid distribution for flood victims amidst passengers and cargo trucks which were halted by townsmen requesting relief supplies in Nowshera, located in Pakistan's northwest Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province August 2, 2010. Islamist charities, some with suspected ties to militants, stepped in on Monday to provide aid for Pakistanis hit by the worst flooding in memory, piling pressure on a government criticised for its response to the disaster that has so far killed more than 1,000 people. REUTERS/Adrees Latif (PAKISTAN - Tags: DISASTER ENVIRONMENT) © REUTERS | REUTERS

Residents use buckets to scoop water from their house after it was destroyed by floods in the outskirts of Peshawar July 30, 2010. About 150 people have been killed by flashfloods and bad weather in Pakistan in the last week, with the country's northwest and Baluchistan provinces bearing the brunt of the storms, officials said on Thursday. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz (PAKISTAN - Tags: DISASTER ENVIRONMENT) © REUTERS | REUTERS

A Pakistani volunteer carries villagers in his boat who were stranded from their houses after heavy rain fall caused flooding in Nowshera, near Peshawar, Pakistan on Thursday, July 29, 2010. Rivers burst their banks during monsoon rains, washing away streets, battering a dam and killing at least 60 people, official said. (AP Photo/B.K.Bangash) © AP | AP

Pakistani villagers wade through water after heavy rain fall caused flooding in Nowshera near Peshawar, Pakistan on Thursday, July 29, 2010. Pakistani villagers move into safe place from a flood hit village near Nowshera . Rivers burst their banks during monsoon rains, washing away streets, battering a dam and killing at least 60 people, official said. (AP Photo/B.K.Bangash) © AP | AP

People use a boat to rescue people stranded in their houses after heavy rain fall caused flooding in Nowshera near Peshawar, Pakistan on Thursday, July 29, 2010. Pakistani villagers move into safe place from a flood hit village near Nowshera . Rivers burst their banks during monsoon rains, washing away streets, battering a dam and killing at least 60 people, official said. (AP Photo/B.K.Bangash) © AP | AP

Pakistani residents stand by flood water that entered a residential area of Muzaffarabad on July 30, 2010. Flash floods triggered by torrential rains in different parts of Pakistan have killed 192, destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate, officials said. Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is the worst affected where officials say that at least 165 people have died in last three days. AFP PHOTO/ SAJJAD QAYYUM © AFP | AFP

A Pakistani farmer walks through his field flooded by heavy monsoon rain in Burhan near Peshawar, Pakistan on Thursday, July 29, 2010. Rivers burst their banks during monsoon rains, washing away streets, battering a dam and killing at least 60 people, official said. (AP Photo/B.K.Bangash) © AP | AP

In this image released by the Pakistan Inter Services Public Relations Department, People get down from a helicopter after they were evacuated from a village flooded by monsoon rains in Charsadda near Peshawar, Pakistan on Thursday, July 29, 2010. Dozens of people were killed by heavy rains which caused flooding. (AP Photo/Inter Services Public Relations Department) ** EDITORIAL USE ONLY ** © AP | AP

People flee their flooded villages after a heavy monsoon rain fall in Nowshera near Peshawar, Pakistan on Thursday, July 29, 2010. Rivers burst their banks during monsoon rains, washing away streets, battering a dam and killing at least 60 people, official said. (AP Photo/B.K.Bangash) © AP | AP

People use a boat to rescue people stranded from their houses after heavy rain fall caused flooding in Nowshera near Peshawar, Pakistan on Thursday, July 29, 2010. Rivers burst their banks during monsoon rains, washing away streets, battering a dam and killing at least 60 people, official said. (AP Photo/B.K.Bangash) © AP | AP

A Pakistani woman cluthes belongings and two chickens as she evacuates after a flash flood in Mehmood Kot on August 5, 2010. Pakistan began evacuating half a million people from flood-risk areas in the south on August 5, as the overall number hit by the country's worst floods in living memory rose to more than four million. TOPSHOTS / AFP PHOTO / Arif ALI © AFP | AFP

A Pakistani woman delouses her daughter's hair while sitting on a rope bed outside their tent set near a motorway in the outskirts of Peshawar on August 6, 2010. Pakistan's beleaguered authorities braced for a deluge in the country's farming heartland, evacuating half a million people from at-risk areas in the south as the worst floods in living memory worsened. The overall number of people affected by the two-week-old crisis has risen to more than four million after the floods washed away entire villages in the northwest, and anger at the government response is intensifying. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI © AFP | AFP

A Pakistani family shelters in a tent set near a motorway in the outskirts of Peshawar on August 6, 2010. Pakistan's beleaguered authorities braced for a deluge in the country's farming heartland, evacuating half a million people from at-risk areas in the south as the worst floods in living memory worsened. The overall number of people affected by the two-week-old crisis has risen to more than four million after the floods washed away entire villages in the northwest, and anger at the government response is intensifying. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI © AFP | AFP

A Pakistani girl walks beside a tent set near a motorway in the outskirts of Peshawar on August 6, 2010. Pakistan's beleaguered authorities braced for a deluge in the country's farming heartland, evacuating half a million people from at-risk areas in the south as the worst floods in living memory worsened. The overall number of people affected by the two-week-old crisis has risen to more than four million after the floods washed away entire villages in the northwest, and anger at the government response is intensifying. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI © AFP | AFP

Pakistani farmers carry belongings from their destroyed houses to tents set on the motorway in the outskirts of Peshawar on August 6, 2010. Pakistan's beleaguered authorities braced for a deluge in the country's farming heartland, evacuating half a million people from at-risk areas in the south as the worst floods in living memory worsened. The overall number of people affected by the two-week-old crisis has risen to more than four million after the floods washed away entire villages in the northwest, and anger at the government response is intensifying. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI © AFP | AFP

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Den Opfern der Flut im Nordwesten Pakistans könnte bei weiteren Regenfällen ein gefährlicher Cholera-Ausbruch drohen.

Majuky Faqirabad. Angesichts der schweren Überschwemmungen im Nordwesten Pakistans warnen Helfer und Behörden vor einer Gesundheitskatastrophe. Insgesamt seien schon mehr als drei Millionen Menschen von den Fluten betroffen, teilte das Uno-Kinderhilfswerk Unicef am Dienstag in Genf mit. Unter den Notleidenden seien 1,4 Millionen Kinder, von denen bereits unzählige an lebensgefährlichem Durchfall erkrankt seien. Ein Unicef-Sprecher sagte in Genf, insgesamt seien nach Schätzungen der pakistanischen Regierung 3,2 Millionen Menschen in Not geraten. Nach Angaben der Verwaltung der schwer betroffenen Provinz Khyber Pakhtunkhwa starben bereits etwa 1.500 Menschen in den Fluten. Nach Schätzungen der Vereinten Nationen verloren fast eine Million Menschen ihr Dach über dem Kopf oder wurden zur Flucht gezwungen. Sie campieren laut dem Bericht eines AFP-Korrespondenten aus dem Dorf Majuky Faqirabad oft mit ihren letzten geretteten Habseligkeiten auf der Straße. Immer wieder sind auch Schüsse zu hören, Plünderer versuchen von der Situation zu profitieren. Außerdem regnete es auch am Dienstag wieder in Strömen, neue Überschwemmungen wurden befürchtet. Unter den Notleidenden sind auch viele Kinder. „Die größte Gefahr für Kinder sind jetzt Durchfall und Cholera.

„Sauberes Wasser, Nahrung, Medikamente, Kleidung und Impfstoffe werden dringend benötigt.“ Insbesondere jüngere Kinder würden von Durchfall, Malaria und Infektionskrankheiten sowie Haut- und Augenkrankheiten bedroht. „Die Schlammmassen haben Brunnen und Wasserwerke verseucht und unbrauchbar gemacht“, erklärte Unicef. Deshalb werde dringend sauberes Wasser benötigt. Auch die Johanniter berichteten, dass das Trinkwasser in vielen Orten verseucht sei. „Wir befürchten, dass es durch das verschmutzte Trinkwasser jetzt vermehrt zu schweren Erkrankungen und im schlimmsten Fall zu Seuchen kommt“, erklärte Naseer Ahmed Kakar, Programmkoordinator der Johanniter in Pakistan. „Die Betroffenen brauchen dringend Nahrung, Trinkwasser, Unterkünfte und Latrinen - es besteht große Gefahr für die Gesundheit der Menschen“, warnte auch die Hilfsorganisation Oxfam. Angesichts des Elends und der nur schleppend anlaufenden Hilfe wuchs bei den Betroffenen der Zorn auf die Regierung und die Behörden. Vor allem Präsident Asif Ali Zardari geriet zunehmend in die Kritik, weil er statt im Land zu helfen auf eine Europareise ging. „Warum ist Zardari nach Frankreich und Großbritannien gereist, wenn sein eigenes Volk in tiefer Trauer und unter Schock ist“, fragte beispielsweise Murad Khan in Majuky Faqirabad, einem der am schlimmsten betroffenen Dörfer im Nordwesten des Landes. „Zardari hätte uns hier besuchen sollen und sich um unser Wohlergehen kümmern, statt auf Vergnügungsreise zu gehen“, fügte sein Nachbar Sher Khan hinzu.

Helfer warnen vor Gesundheitskatastrophe

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