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ISLAMABAD: The United Nations (UN) appealed to the world community on Tuesday for $160 million in emergency aid to help flood victims in Pakistan.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated via video link during the 2022 Pakistan Floods Response Plan (FRP) event that the floods had destroyed infrastructure in the affected areas of Pakistan and that the country was in desperate need of international assistance to help those affected by the heavy rains and floods.
He stated that Pakistan requires $160 million in relief for flood victims, and that greenhouse emissions are contributing to 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.
“It’s a great challenge to provide food, a roof, and rehabilitation to the victims,” Bilalwal said, adding that the Benazir Income Support Programme has also been assisting impacted families.
Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal will also speak at the ceremony as the chairperson of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s “Relief Coordination Committee.”
“The FRP was developed in close collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority” (NDMA). Lt. Gen. Akhtar Nawaz, Chairman of the NDMA, 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.United Nations
“All UN Member States, as well as several UN agencies and humanitarian groups working in disaster relief, will attend the launch event.” “The FRP will recognise the government’s total humanitarian response to the recent floods in Pakistan due by record rains,” the FO noted.
Authorities in Pakistan were hesitant to respond at first, but recent reports from affected areas indicate that the current floods have inflicted even more damage than the catastrophic floods of 2010.United Nations
Unprecedented flash floods produced by unprecedented monsoon rains wiped away roads, crops, infrastructure, and bridges, killing at least 1,000 people and affecting more than 33 million people in recent weeks.
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