ISLAMABAD: The United Nations will appeal for $160 million on Tuesday to help millions of people affected by floods caused by devastating monsoon rains in Pakistan.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar said in his weekly media briefing that the UN appeal for the flood victims will be launched simultaneously from Geneva and Islamabad on Tuesday, August 30. It will also lead to bilateral assistance from the international community as well as other countries.
In addition, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said in his interaction with a group of ambassadors and diplomats on Friday that the government is reaching out to friendly countries, donors and international financial institutions for continuous support in this difficult time. Ambassadors and High Commissioners of Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, South Korea, USA and Germany, senior diplomats of Bahrain, European Union, France, Oman, Qatar, United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia and World Food The country representative of the program participated.
The international community’s response to the government’s appeal has so far been slow, while nearly 1,000 people, including 300 children, have lost their lives due to the rains and subsequent floods that have affected nearly 3.3 million people. It constitutes 15% of the country’s population.
Flash-ups are conducted when a government lacks a coordinated response to a sudden disaster and no single UN agency can respond to the situation alone. But up to six months are required.
The Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator and the National Disaster Management Authority collaborated to determine the requirements on the basis of which the appeal will now be launched.
