Hollywood Super star, Angelina Jolie, the actress, film maker and humanitarian is set to visit Pakistan. The country is hit by a ravaging flood.
Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s minister for climate change, described the situation as;
“The worst humanitarian disaster of this decade” and has called for urgent international help in providing “food, tents and medicines.”
The International the International Rescue Committee (IRC) released a statement on Monday, confirming that Jolie will visit the flood-ravaged Pakistan.
Her trip is intended to draw international attention to the country’s unfolding crisis.
The country’s Government has already declared it a humanitarian disaster. The lives of more than 1,500 people have been lost to flooding and the flood is impacting on an estimated 33 million more. It is affecting crops and livestock, washing away homes, bridges, roads and railways.
A third of the country’s land, has so far being affected by the flooding. The lands have given way and are now submerged by the flood.
The flood is as a result of record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in Pakistan’s northern mountain regions.
Authorities are afraid of an impending widespread occurrence of infectious diseases such as cholera and dengue. They stipulate that for the flood waters to recede in the country’s hardest-hit areas, it could take up to six months.
According to UNICEF, "The severe flooding has left an estimated 3.4 million children in need of “immediate, lifesaving support." The children are vulnerable to contracting water-borne diseases, including dengue fever and malaria.
Jolie “is visiting to witness and gain understanding of the situation, and to hear from people affected directly about their needs, and about steps to prevent such suffering in the future,” the statement said.
She will visit the IRC’s response operations and local organizations that are assisting displaced people, it added.
It is unclear whether Jolie has arrived in Pakistan, or how long the trip is expected to last.
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