UN appeals to int’l community for $160 million in emergency aid to provide relief to Pakistan flood victims
ISLAMABAD, August 30 (SABAH): The United Nations (UN) on Tuesday appealed to the international community for $160 million in emergency aid to provide relief to the victims of floods in Pakistan.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking through a video link during the 2022 Pakistan Floods Response Plan (FRP) event, said infrastructure in the affected areas of Pakistan was destroyed by the floods and the country was in the dire need of help from the international community to help those people affected by the heavy rains and floods.
He said that Pakistan is in need of $160 million in aid for the flood victims, adding that greenhouse gases are causing an increase in global warming.
During the ceremony, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also appealed for emergency assistance to Pakistan during these times of distress.
Due to climate change, heat waves have broken all records in Pakistan and now the country is facing heavy rainfall and flooding, he said.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairperson said more than 30 million people in 72 districts of the country are currently affected by the catastrophe, while systems of communication and crops have been destroyed and the economy has taken a significant hit.
“Providing food, a roof and rehabilitation to the victims is a big challenge,” Bilalwal said, adding that the Benazir Income Support Programme has also been helping the affected families.
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal will also speak at the event as he is the chairperson of the “Relief Coordination Committee” constituted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“The FRP has been prepared in close coordination with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Chairman NDMA Lt. Gen. Akhtar Nawaz will also brief the session,” said the FO in an earlier statement.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UN Resident Coordinator in Islamabad, and the Assistant Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) will also speak at the event.
“The launch event will be attended by all UN Member States as well as various UN agencies and humanitarian organizations working in the area of disaster relief. The FRP will acknowledge the government’s overall humanitarian response to the recent floods caused by unprecedented rains in Pakistan,” the FO added.
Initially, authorities in Pakistan were slow to react but the latest reports from the troubled regions indicate the damage caused by current floods is far greater than the super floods of 2010.
Unprecedented flash floods caused by historic monsoon rains have washed away roads, crops, infrastructure and bridges, killing at least 1,000 people in recent weeks and affecting more than 33 million.