Over $3 million raised for Pakistan relief

30/09/2010

The members of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION are proud to announce that they have together raised over $3.3 million towards the Pakistan flood relief.

September 30, 2010 (Ottawa, ON) – With just days  left in the Government of Canada’s campaign to match individual donations to Pakistan flood relief, the members of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION are announcing that they have together raised over $3.3 million towards this cause. Over $3 million of that is eligible for government matching funds.

“The basic idea behind the Humanitarian Coalition is that together we can accomplish more, together we can save more lives,” said David Morley, president and CEO of Save the Children Canada. “We demonstrated this in our response to Haiti, and we demonstrated again with our response to the floods in Pakistan, that our coalition model is effective in raising funds for major emergencies.”

For the Pakistan appeal the HUMANITARIAN COALITION had strong support from Canadian broadcasters and the private sector, including the CBC, CTVglobemedia, Astral Médias, and eBay Canada. “The participation of these partners played a major role in increasing awareness of the disaster and donations from Canadians to help the millions of Pakistanis affected by the floods,” said Kevin McCort, president and CEO of CARE Canada.
 
Money raised received so far is already supporting the relief operations of HUMANITARIAN COALITION members - CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Québec and Save the Children Canada. Those operations include:

  • Save the Children has provided assistance to more than 1,000,000 children and adults through emergency medical care and the distribution of shelter materials, hygiene kits, water purification sachets, food and other supplies.
  • Save the Children has established 63 child-friendly spaces to meet the immediate psycho-social needs of children in affected areas and are working with communities to address issues which threaten children’s well-being. 
  • CARE has reached over 122,000 beneficiaries with health care services, shelter, clean water, food, and non-food relief items such as hygiene kits
  • CARE’s outreach includes mobile and stationary health camps, and health and hygiene awareness raising sessions. Reviving livelihoods is CARE Pakistan’s mandate and work has started through a vaccination of livestock program, in which 735 animals have already been vaccinated in the Sindh province.
  • Oxfam’s programs have reached 1 million people across the affected areas, with the delivery of water, food and shelter materials. 
  • Oxfam is holding meetings with affected farmers to assess their needs and begin planning for next planting season. This is part of an overall livelihood-rejuvenation plan that will support survivors to open bank-accounts, buy farming tools and seeds.

The HUMANITARIAN COALITION, through its member agencies, provides a widespread and effective response to emergencies, with a combined presence in over 120 countries. By coming together under one banner, the HUMANITARIAN COALITION reduces fundraising costs, increasing the impact of Canadian donations where it is needed.


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For more information about the crisis, the HUMANITARIAN COALITION or as an alternate means to arrange an interview with agency spokespeople, please contact:

Kieran Green, CARE Canada 
(514) 458-0057

Alexandra Lopoukhine, Oxfam Canada
(613) 850-9723

Justine Lesage, Oxfam-Québec
514 513-0013

Denise Koulis, Save the Children Canada
(647) 273-7134