Pakistan Floods. Photo courtesy UNDP.

While floodwaters are beginning to recede in many areas, Pakistan remains caught in the grips of one of the most devastating natural disasters in the country’s history.

According to U.N. estimates, the floods have affected nearly 18 million people countrywide. About 900,000 people remain in temporary camps, and thousands of others are in urgent need of food, potable water and medicine. In addition to submerging schools and infrastructure, the floods have destroyed precious farmland and livestock—the loss of which could be catastrophic for the country’s fragile economy.

Pakistan needs our help and will continue to need assistance for months to come. Yet the global response has been sluggish at best. As of August 27, the U.N’s Pakistan Initial Floods Emergency Response Plan still required $167 million to meet its estimated $460 million funding need. As world citizens, humanitarians and fellow human beings, it would be unconscionable not to respond.

Although IDEX does not have partners operating in Pakistan, thanks to the International Human Rights Funders Group, we can offer a list of several grassroots organizations currently active in flood relief efforts. To learn more about each group or to make a donation, please visit the websites below.

• Visit Acumen Fund for a list of organizations currently on the ground in Pakistan, as well as donation information.
• American Jewish World Service has set up a relief fund for its Pakistan-based grantee partners. To make a donation visit AJWS.
• Global Fund for Women has established a crisis fund to support its partners on the ground. Log on to Global Fund For Women to make a donation.
• Donations to Global Greengrants Fund support five local groups on the ground, most of them Greengrants grantees.
• Grassroots International features a list of local organizations active in flood relief, including donation information.

Blog post by Erin Zaleski, Journalist & IDEX Volunteer.