Readers have asked what they might do to help the victims of the terrible flooding that has devastated Pakistan these past several weeks. Those interested might look into Malteser International, the emergency relief arm of the Order of Malta (www.Malteser-International.org) . Malteser International is conducting a relief effort in that desperate country. The following information is from its website.
With over 140 projects is some 35 countries throughout Africa, Asia and the Americas, Malteser International provides emergency relief after disasters and supports recovery efforts with a focus on sustainable development. For nearly 60 years, Malteser International has been standing by those affected by poverty, disease, conflict and disaster, helping them lead a healthy life with dignity – without distinction of religion, origin or political persuasion. Malteser International’s General Secretariat and its European headquarters are located in Cologne, Germany. The American headquarters are based in New York. The international network of the Order of Malta plays an essential role in Malteser International’s work, allowing the relief agency to help people in need quickly and efficiently.
Through a close collaboration with local communities, national and international partners as well as donors, the relief agency ensures its projects are sustainable and efficient. Transparency, accountability and the compliance with international standards of humanitarian aid are the fundamental basis for the quality of its programs.
Malteser International supports long-term and future-oriented development by continuing short-term relief measures with a holistic and sustainable approach in the following areas:
-Providing emergency relief after disasters, helping communities rebuild and recover.
-Establishing and promoting primary health care services and nutrition programs.
-Ensuring access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
-Helping people secure their livelihoods through social programs that reduce vulnerability and poverty.
-Reducing the risks of disaster, especially at the community level.
Pakistan is at high risk from climate change and natural disasters. Events such as earthquakes, typhoons, flooding and drought have haunted the country for years, and regularly swept away the foundations on which the lives of hundreds of thousands of families were built.
Internal and external political issues have also left their mark on the country, leading to chronic instability. Anti-Terro operations along the Afghan border have led to years of population displacement and Pakistan is now home to over 2.5 million displaced people mostly from crisis-ridden Afghanistan. New refugees have been arriving since the Taliban took power in 2021. With large numbers of refugees, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, difficult economic and political conditions, inflation, and increasingly devastating extreme weather events such as the historic floods in 2022, Pakistani people face many challenges and need assistance.