Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher allocates funds to meet the most critical humanitarian needs of flood-affected families

ISLAMABAD, (TW News)  – United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has announced a USD $5 million allocation from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support the Government-led flood response in Pakistan. The funds will enable UN agencies and partners to deliver immediate life-saving assistance to some of the 4 million people who have been affected by flooding so far, including more than 2 million who were forced out their homes in search for higher ground.

This includes the provision of safe drinking water, food, shelter, hygiene kits, and mosquito nets, while making health services, psychological support and emergency cash assistance available.

“The Government of Pakistan has done incredible work to evacuate people, saving countless lives, but the communities are struggling,” said Mohamed Yahya, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan. “These funds will help the UN supplement the Government’s efforts to provide flood-affected families with critical relief interventions, in coordination with local NGOs on the ground.”

These $5 million will supplement the US$ 600,000 allocated by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to Pooled Funds that help local NGOs deliver essential lifesaving interventions.

More heavy rains are forecasted in the coming days, with high flood warnings as water levels continue to rise. The southern province of Sindh is now at high risk as flood waters flow down the Indus River, putting another 1.6 million people at risk of flooding and raising fears of “super floods.”

Supercharged monsoon rains and cloudbursts have triggered widespread and exceptionally high flooding across Pakistan, ravaging swathes of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and leaving large parts of Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, under water. With reports of water depths up to 10 meters, some communities have become inaccessible. Swelled rivers have submerged farmlands, roads, homes, schools, and health centers, leaving at least 892 people dead and causing increased numbers of waterborne diseases.

Pakistan is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world. Scorching heatwaves trigger accelerated glacial melt and glacial lake outbursts, combined with increasingly erratic, extreme monsoon rains. In 2022, the country was ravaged by floods that affected 33 million people.