NATO teams overcome difficult environment
to deliver relief

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Situated near the epicentre of the devastating October 8 earthquake here, the District of Bagh in Pakistani Kashmir spans some of the most beautiful, yet treacherous terrain in the world. Day by day, snow covering the tops of the jagged Himalayan peaks creeps down the mountains, threatening many earthquake survivors.

More than 300,000 people live in this affected area and better than 80% of them were affected to varying degrees by the earthquake.

Working in close coordination with the government of Pakistan , NATO’s relief team has focused its efforts on this district and has been working on two broad areas: winterization and stabilization of the population.

Led by a Deployed Joint Task Force headquarters in Islamabad , the NATO Response Force relief mission includes significant land and air components. This mission represents the first time the NRF has deployed in this manner for a humanitarian mission, and the farthest NATO has sent its personnel. This scale of effort makes clear the importance NATO has placed on this relief effort.

NATO engineers work to repair roads, schools and hospitals

Led by the Spanish, the NATO Land Component has established its headquarters in Arja, a small town near Bagh, and employs hundreds of engineers in units from Spain , Poland , the U.K. , Italy and Lithuania . One of the largest projects on their list includes repairing critical roadways connecting towns in the Bagh area, which were damaged and blocked in the quake. In many areas, these narrow roads are dangerously perched on the sides of cliffs posing both a safety threat to the general and a serious challenge to the repair effort.

Today, a U.S. Chinook helicopter lifted a small team of NATO engineers and equipment to a remote site where they will set up a temporary work camp to begin clearing the road network between the mountain towns Malot and Sudhan Gala, both near Bagh. This winding stretch of mountain road was blocked by at least five separate landslides and has been impassable since the earthquake.

In the same general area, engineers working with the Pakistani Army will construct 69 shelters for education and medical use.

For at least the next month, teams of NATO engineers will travel by helicopter to this area and work in one-week shifts from the remote camp as they open this critical aid and travel route.

Meanwhile, another ongoing project focuses on repairing a damaged medical clinic in Arja where NATO engineers are building a temporary facility to house the only X-ray unit in the area.

Other Engineer units are clearing rubble, opening blocked roads, repairing damaged roads throughout the area.

On all of these projects, NATO personnel are working closely with the Pakistani Army.

NATO Medics treat thousands

The roughly 150-strong NATO field hospital in Bagh, established and led by the Dutch, now also includes personnel from France , the Czech Republic , Portugal , and the United Kingdom . These medical professionals have seen more than 3,000 patients to date including those who have come to the facility for medical care, and those seen by mobile medical teams.

Healthcare in the Bagh region took a heavy blow from the earthquake. Almost all of the medical facilities were damaged or destroyed, and the NATO hospital is providing a critical service to fill the gap as the Pakistani government and others work to restore the medical infrastructure in the area.

In addition to the field hospital, the NATO medics send out mobile medical teams several times a week. These small teams move by vehicle, foot and even donkey to bring their professional capabilities to those in need. Starting today, they will also move by air as NATO’s helicopters carry them to remote mountain villages to expand their medical reach.

NATO Helicopters bring relief, evacuate sick and injured

With five helicopters including four German heavy-lift CH-53 Stallions, and one medevac chopper from Luxembourg , NATO’s air operation has delivered tons of aid to remote mountain villages while evacuating hundreds of sick and injured people.

In addition to bringing nearly 750 tons of critical relief supplies into the mountains, to date these choppers have carried more than 1,400 people down from remote villages, bringing many to shelter and medical care in places like Islamabad .

Short-term Mission a race against time

NATO’s engineers, medics and flight crews will continue pushing hard to deliver relief to the people of Pakistan and the Bagh district throughout this short-term relief mission. Snow and cold weather have already begun to impact the area and many still lack basic shelter and medical care.

Although NATO’s relief mission in Pakistan is only for about 90 days, this multi-national team will work hard to deliver aid to the people of Pakistan even as it prepares to hand over the operation to the government late next month.