The UK is providing further urgent life-saving support to
Pakistan following devastating floods that have left a third of
the country underwater, Foreign Secretary announced today.
Humanitarian support totalling £15 million from the UK will help
provide shelter and essential supplies to people across the
country. The flooding has affected more than 33 million people,
with 1,100 lives lost. The latest funding announced by the
Foreign Secretary comes after the UK provided £1.5 million
to the disaster last weekend.
Following the launch of the Disasters
Emergency Committee (DEC) Pakistan Floods
Appeal today (1 September 2022), the UK government has
announced it will match pound for pound the first £5 million of
public donations, as part of today’s total £15 million pledge.
The rest of the UK funding of £10 million announced today will go
to international aid agencies on the ground to help them respond
to people’s immediate needs, including through providing water,
sanitation, shelter, protecting women and girls. It will also
support families to repair their homes and maintain their
livelihoods.
Foreign Secretary said:
The UK stands with Pakistan, as tens of millions of people face
devastating floods, which have left a third of the country – an
area roughly the size of the UK – underwater.
As a major humanitarian donor, we will do all we can to get
life-saving aid to the most vulnerable, including through this
£15 million package of support.
The Government of Pakistan and the UN launched a joint appeal on
30 August for $160 million to help the long-term recovery. Early
estimates of the damage suggest that it will have a $10 billion
impact.
Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, FCDO Minister of State for South
and Central Asia, said:
We are seeing first-hand the tragic effects of climate change and
the impact it is having on millions of people across the country.
The UK is working around the clock with the Pakistan authorities
to determine what support is required in the short-term and
longer-term.
We are also working at pace with international organisations
working directly on the ground to help victims of the disaster.
These include the United Nations and World Bank. We will continue
to work hand in hand with the international community to garner
the best possible global support package for Pakistan to recover.
Background
- according to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Agency,
the flooding has damaged 950,000 houses and destroyed 287,000,
with 500,000 people now living in relief camps. The disaster has
also destroyed 3,000km of roads and damaged 7,566 schools. In
total 745 health centres have been damaged or destroyed
- according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), over 800,000 livestock have
been lost
- on Friday 26 August 2022, the UK was one of the first
countries to announce funding (£1.5
million) in response to the flooding
- the UK pledged over £55
million 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
- today’s announcement of £15 million in 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. £5
million of the total £15 million amount will go to
the DEC Pakistan Floods
Appeal
- UK government match funding will double British public’s own
donations to the DEC appeal up to £5
million and will ensure that DEC member charities
working on the ground can reach even more people in need.
Donations can be made at www.dec.org.uk or by
calling 0330 678 1000
- UK Aid Match has increased the impact of a number
of DEC appeals,
including most recently those for Ukraine and Afghanistan
- when large-scale disasters hit countries without the capacity
to respond, the DEC brings together
15 leading UK aid charities to raise funds quickly and
efficiently. The 10 DEC members
responding so far to the flooding in Pakistan are: Action Against
Hunger, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE
International UK, Concern Worldwide UK, International Rescue
Committee UK, Islamic Relief, Save the Children UK and Tearfund
