Photp Courtesy of UNHCR/J. Tanner

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie is in Pakistan today, highlighting the suffering of millions of flood victims and the need for continuing aid for the displaced.

In a PSA video released August 31, Jolie pleads: “One-fifth of Pakistan is under water… and the threat of disease now looms for 20 million affected people. This is not just a humanitarian crisis, it is an economic and social catastrophe. UNHCR is on the ground. The more support we can give, the greater number of tents, food, clean water and medicine will get to the people in need.”

Jolie is travelling today in Pakistan as the personal envoy of UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. “It’s clear this crisis is far from over,” Jolie said. “People have lost everything: their homes, their belongings, their crops and cattle, and their livelihoods. Long after the cameras have gone, people will be struggling to rebuild their lives.”


ALYSSA MILANO ALSO APPEALS FOR FUNDS FOR PAKISTAN FLOOD VICTIMS

“They are still rebuilding infrastructure from the earthquake of 2005. They continue to have large numbers of IDPs as a result of the conflict in the north, and host 1.7 million Afghan refugees who still need care and refuge as conflict continues in their homeland. And now, of course, the recent flooding and its aftermath already affecting millions and the looming threat of disease,” Jolie continued.

UNHCR has delivered help to almost 750,000 people, but continued flooding in many areas of southern Pakistan is creating new challenges for relief efforts in what has already become one of the most complex humanitarian crises of recent times.