Summary:

International donors must recognise the clear and urgent need for more permanent shelter for earthquake-affected communities in Pakistan, says Save the Children. More than three months after the start of the emergency, the shelter sector is dangerously under-funded with only 18% of the money needed for the UN flash appeal having been committed.

This lack of funding has left earthquake-affected families in Pakistan unable to upgrade their current shelters (mostly tents) or to rebuild their homes in time for the winter. There were widespread reports of tents collapsing under the weight of snowfall and a move to provide more adequate shelter is now imperative.

"Tents should only ever be a very temporary solution," said Jasmine Whitbread, Chief Executive of Save the Children. "Children should not be living in tents in these temperatures for long periods of time. It has devastating implications. More and more children will suffer from respiratory infections and we can expect to see increasing numbers of vulnerable children suffering from more serious problems like pneumonia.

"We have learnt lessons from the Tsunami and if one year on from the earthquake in South Asia children are spending another winter in a tent then the international community will have failed them. Semi-permanent shelter needs to be properly funded as a matter of urgency"

Jasmine Whitbread is currently visiting the earthquake-affected areas of Muzaffarabad, Bagh and Batagram to see Save the Children’s response to the emergency.

Save the Children has responded to earthquakes across the world and experience has shown it takes up to three years to reconstruct permanent homes. Transitional shelter is under-funded in every emergency response. People end up living for years in the tents that were provided simply to shelter them in the immediate aftermath.

The Save the Children alliance has already distributed tents and shelter kits to more than 30,000 families. The charity is seeking an additional £3.4 million to provide more adequate shelter for 24,000 families in Bagh, Muzaffarbad, Batagram, Mansehra and Abbottabad districts of Pakistan. This will include providing emergency life-saving shelter materials, including corrugated iron, plastic sheeting and insulation, to the most vulnerable families. Many more supplies are needed to help families complete temporary structures.

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Organisation Contact Details:

Save the Children UK
1 St John's Lane
London EC1M 4AR
Tel: + 44 20 7012 6400
Email: supporter.care@savethechildren.org.uk
Website: www.savethechildren.org.uk

Last updated 23/01/2006 11:23:42

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