The UK is providing urgent support to Pakistan after flooding in
the south of the country killed at least 900 people. Extreme
monsoon rainfall has affected millions, with at least 700,000
homes destroyed.
In response to the disaster, the UK will provide up to £1.5
million for the relief effort. The UN is carrying out a needs
assessment over the weekend, and a UN appeal is expected to be
launched on Tuesday.
Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South and
Central Asia, North Africa, UN and the Commonwealth and the Prime
Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence
in Conflict, said:
The floods in Pakistan have devastated local communities and the
UK is providing up to £1.5 million to help the immediate
aftermath. We are witnessing the catastrophe that climate change
can cause and how it impacts the most vulnerable.
My thoughts and prayers are with all the victims and their
families, and I would like to pay tribute to everyone involved in
the relief efforts. We are also working directly with the
Pakistan authorities to establish what further assistance and
support they require. The UK stands with the people of Pakistan
during this time of need.
The UK also provides assistance to Pakistan through international
organisations working directly with the victims of the disaster,
including the World Bank and the United Nations.
Notes to editors
- The £1.5m of humanitarian funding is an allocation from
existing support to Pakistan and will go to the relief efforts in
the areas worst-hit by the flooding.
- The UK pledged over £55m to partner with Pakistan to fight
climate change, manage water more sustainably and unlock climate
investment in November 2021 during the COP26 Conference in
Glasgow. Read more here.
- The Global Climate Risk Index report notes that Pakistan has
reported 502 deaths and a loss of $3.772 billion as a result of
173 extreme weather events between 2000 and 2019.
- Pakistan is among the most disaster-prone countries in South
Asia and has suffered an estimated US$18 billion in damages due
to disasters during the past decade. This has included: recurrent
floods; earthquakes; droughts; and urban shocks (such as
heatwaves and dengue). Overall, in Pakistan, 25% of households
(49 million people) are estimated to be moderately or severely
food insecure, whereas 10% of the households (21 million people)
are classified as severely food insecure. The Multi-Dimensional
Poverty Index suggests that 36.43 million people are chronically
vulnerable.
- Pakistan is the eighth most at risk country globally from the
impacts of Climate Change (an improvement from fifth most at-risk
country in 2020). This year, Pakistan has and is experiencing
consecutive extreme climactic events. The country moved directly
from winter into summer temperatures with a number of extreme
heat waves, causing rapid glacial flash floods and forest fires.
- During the 2020 floods in Pakistan, the UK announced a
£800,000 aid package through the National Disaster Consortium
(NDC) and provided immediate relief in rural Sindh where many had
lost their homes. It also provided life-saving clean water,
sanitation, and shelter to over 55,000 vulnerable people in
Pakistan to help them recover from the devastating floods.
