IOM communications teams in flood-hit areas of Sindh are saving
lives by reporting the needs of families cut off by the floods to
aid agencies, enabling them to provide a coordinated response,
delivering food, health care, shelter and other lifesaving items.

The teams are also alerting displaced communities to public
health issues including dengue, malaria, diarrhea and snake bite
prevention and treatment, at the request of the government and the
humanitarian community.

"BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(51,102,204) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(51,102,204) 1px solid; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; BACKGROUND: rgb(153,204,255) 0% 50%; FLOAT: right; CLEAR: right; BORDER-TOP: rgb(51,102,204) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(51,102,204) 1px solid">
"PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; BACKGROUND: rgb(51,102,204) 0% 50%; PADDING-TOP: 3px">Related
Links alt="" border="0" height="12" hspace="0" src=
"/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/graphics/interface/icons_buttons/blue_link_box.gif"> "javascript:openWindow('http://www.iom.int/Template/pakistan/pakistan-flood-2011/pakistan-2011-floods.htm',810,638)"
title="">Photo Gallery alt="" border="0" height="12" hspace="0" src=
"/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/graphics/interface/icons_buttons/blue_link_box.gif"> "http://iomdonations.kintera.org/" target="_blank" title="">Donate
Now! alt="" border="0" height="12" hspace="0" src=
"/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/graphics/interface/icons_buttons/blue_link_box.gif"> "/jahia/webdav/shared/shared/mainsite/media/docs/reports/Pakistan-Floods-2011-Rapid-Response-Plan.pdf"
onclick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/pubdocs');"
target="_blank" title="">Response Plan 2011 alt="" border="0" height="12" hspace="0" src=
"/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/graphics/interface/icons_buttons/blue_link_box.gif"> "http://www.facebook.com/pages/IOM-Pakistan-Flood-Response/144782588874579?sk=wall"
onclick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/pubdocs');"
target="_blank" title="">IOM Pakistan Flood Response on
Facebook alt="" border="0" height="12" hspace="0" src=
"/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/graphics/interface/icons_buttons/blue_link_box.gif"> "/jahia/Jahia/pakistan/lang/en" target="" title="">More
Info

Recently, an IOM team identified 40 families in Mohammad Bakhsh
village in Mirpurkhas district who were stranded in flood-water and
had run out of food. The information was immediately reported to
the "cluster" of agencies delivering food aid and the villagers'
needs were promptly met.

In the same village, the team identified 5,500 animals at risk
from flood-related diseases. The Executive District Officer (EDO)
was informed and an immediate vaccination drive was arranged.

"Our over 20 teams in Sindh are facilitating by two-way
communication from the communities to the authorities and from
humanitarian partners and the government to the affected
population. This is helping to bridge communication gap and saving
lives," says IOM Communication Project Officer Maria Ahmed.

IOM recently expanded the coverage of the communication teams
from 14 to 21 of the 23 districts in Sindh.

The teams are also supporting the government's new initiative of
emergency relief to flood-affected families through distribution of
the Pakistan Card.

This debit card currently provides Rs 20,000 for each
flood-affected family in the worst hit districts of Umerkot,
Sanghar, Badin, Tharparkar, Tando Allah Yar, Tando Muhammad Khan,
Shaheed Benazirabad.

The teams have also developed frequently asked questions (FAQ)
and a Sindh Service Directory for aid agencies and flood-affected
communities, which is being extensively used during emergency
operations in affected areas.

For more information please contact:

Saleem Rehmat

IOM Islamabad

Tel: +92.300.856.0341

E-mail: "mailto:srehmat@iom.int">srehmat@iom.int