Many people - especially farmers - have not received any aid, Oxfam says Pakistan is still not sufficiently prepared to cope with flooding and other natural disasters, a year after the worst floods in its history, aid agency Oxfam has said.
More than 1,750 people are thought to have been killed and 20 million people affected by last year's floods. An Oxfam report expresses concern about the pace of reconstruction.
It says more than 8,000 families are still without permanent shelter as another monsoon season approaches.
The aid agency also says many people who missed the chance to plant or harvest crops are struggling to sustain themselves, with little work available and rising food prices.
"Today, the crisis is far from over, notably in the south of the country. Many areas - notably homesteads and agricultural land - remain under water or cut off," Oxfam says.
Its report says there is a widespread lack of adequate shelter, malnutrition rates are high and many who are still displaced do not have the means to return home, or anywhere to return to.
For those affected by conflict in the north, the floods have had a double impact.
"Already vulnerable as hosts or displaced people, their resilience has been tested once again. Yet the federal government has ceased emergency relief operations in most areas from 31 January 2011, putting at risk large numbers of Pakistanis who still require assistance," the report says.
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THE 2010 FLOODING OF PAKISTAN
- 20 million people affected
- 14 million required urgent humanitarian assistance
- An area larger than England inundated
- 1.6 million homes destroyed
- $10bn worth of direct and indirect losses
"Moreover, with the next planting season looming, time is running out for landlords, government authorities, and the aid community to help damaged farming communities to recover and thus prevent a secondary food crisis that would result in yet more families sliding into destitution, debt and hunger."
Oxfam acknowledges that the floods would have challenged any government and that as a result of the aid operations thousands of lives were saved."Thanks to their collective efforts, the response to the floods has achieved significant successes. Many lives have been saved, the spread of disease has been controlled, and millions have received vital assistance," the report says.
"But there are still huge humanitarian needs on the ground and serious lessons to be learnt from how the response has been delivered so far."
With much of the country still not covered by early warning systems and many flood defences that were destroyed in last year's disaster not yet properly repaired, Pakistan is not sufficiently prepared to cope as it now faces another monsoon season, the aid agency says.
"Rather than lurch from one disaster to the next, now is the time to rebuild Pakistan in a strategic way that tackles long term problems not only on paper, but in practice," the report says.
"The central government's current approach of cutting development budgets in half and focusing on the cash disbursement scheme in the reconstruction phase is likely to leave many underlying issues unresolved."
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