Oxfam Australia provides $50 000 towards South Asia flood relief effort

MELBOURNE – Oxfam Australia announced today the contribution of AUD$50 000 in response to the floods that have swamped massive areas of India, Bangladesh and Nepal.
The floods are, for many, the ‘worst in living memory’ and have affected an estimated 20 million people in India alone, equivalent to the entire population of Australia. Over the past week, the death toll has increased ten-fold, from 100 to over 1,000 people.
Hundreds of thousands of survivors are in desperate need of food aid. Oxfam is already providing emergency food aid packages, immediate shelter (tarpaulins etc), hygiene kits, water purification and sanitation needs to those worst affected by the floods.
In India, Oxfam is planning to reach 90,000 people in Assam and Bihar states, in addition to some 150,000 people already assisted in West Bengal and Orissa in the floods which began in June.
In Bangladesh, we are mobilising support for 12,000 families living in five of the worst-affected districts, with shelter, food, water and animal fodder, while in Nepal we are providing shelter for some 2,200 families.
“The devastation that is occurring, and it is likely to get worse, has highlighted how vulnerable the people in these areas are to natural disasters,” said Andrew Hewett, Executive Director, Oxfam Australia. “It will take them a long time to recover and a lot of ongoing assistance to cope with the after-effects of these floods.”
Oxfam Australia needs additional contributions to support the continuation of relief operations. Donations can be made through the website www.oxfam.org.au or by calling the donations hotline on 1800 034 034
For more information or to arrange an interview with Andrew Hewett or Oxfam staff on the ground please call Melany Markham on (03) 9289 9415 or 0407 515 559
Notes to Editors
Oxfam Australia has been implementing development programs in India since the 1950s. Oxfam Australia supports local non-government organisations and community-based organisations to deliver programs which address the causes of poverty; rural unemployment; the status of women; environmental degradation; access to health facilities; exploitation of tribal communities; bonded labor; land reform; education; and savings.