Belgium is sending a water treatment plant and a B-FAST team of experts to Pakistan to provide assistance after this summer's severe floods, announced the Federal Public Service (FPS) for Foreign Affairs on Monday morning.
A team of experts from civil protection, FPS Health, the Ministry of Defence and Foreign Affairs left for Pakistan on Monday. The operation is supported by the European Union and is part of the European coordination of crisis response.
In mid-October, a B-FAST reconnaissance team already went to Pakistan to assess where the water treatment plant could be deployed. It had its eye on two locations in the Sindh province, Bhiria and Kot Diji, where B-FAST can provide assistance to solve the lack of drinkable water.
"With the plant, up to 120,000 litres of water per day can be purified at both locations combined. At the same time, an existing water plant in Kot Diji will be rehabilitated and decontaminated, providing the local population with a long-term solution to the current wave of infections and diseases."
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It is planned to involve a local team of experts in the whole process as well so that Pakistani technicians can be trained to take over the water treatment plant when the Belgians return home. The plant itself will be donated to Pakistan, along with all the products needed to purify water for at least 12 months.
The floods in Pakistan left more than 1,600 people dead and enormous material damage. To this day, the needs of the population remain enormous. Thus, the floods have made access to clean potable water difficult and Pakistan launched a new appeal for water purification assistance in the affected areas on 20 September.
