LONDON: The United Kingdom is providing further humanitarian support to Pakistan following the devastating floods that have killed over a thousand people and affected more than 33 million.
The FCDO Minister Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon announced a further £10 million of humanitarian aid, bringing the UK Government’s total contribution to £26.5 million, before his departure for Pakistan. He is scheduled to arrive today.
The recent Pakistan floods highlight the dangers of climate change in South Asia.
With UK support @StartNetwork offers the benefits of disaster risk financing to NGOs in Pakistan, allowing them to access fast & predictable funding to respond to climate related disasters #DRRDay pic.twitter.com/18ADtf7r5X
— Lord (Tariq)Ahmad of Wimbledon (@tariqahmadbt) October 13, 2022
The extra support will be spent on urgent life-saving needs such as providing shelter, water, and sanitation to prevent waterborne diseases. It will focus on supporting people who are still displaced and those that are returning to their land, by helping re-establish communal water supplies.
During his visit to Pakistan, Lord Ahmad is scheduled to meet the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and other government counterparts to discuss the impact of the floods, visit the areas most affected and speak with key UK-funded aid agencies on the ground in Sindh.
UK Minister of State for South Asia, FCDO, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon was quoted as saying:
The UK continues to help the people of Pakistan recover from the recent devastating floods.
Our support will help to tackle the spread of waterborne diseases and to improve access to clean water, sanitation, medical care and shelter across the country.
We are working night and day with Pakistan and our international partners to ensure that UK aid reaches the hardest hit areas.
As well as helping with urgent life-saving needs, the UK is supporting Pakistan’s economic recovery and resilience against future climate disasters.
The UK’s new Developing Countries Trading Scheme will help grow trade by giving duty-free access to 94% of goods exported from Pakistan to the UK.
In addition to the UK’s £26.5 million donation in humanitarian funding, a UK Royal Air Force flight recently delivered eight boats and ten portable generators for use in flood relief operations.
As well as discussing the floods, the Minister will also use this visit to raise the need for strong international support for Ukraine following Russia’s illegal annexation of sovereign territory, and reaffirm the strong people-to-people links between the UK and Pakistan in the context of the 75 year anniversary of Pakistan’s independence.
