NEW YORK: With the arrival of winter, the humanitarian needs of the flood-hit people of Pakistan have intensified and more resources are urgently needed to deal with the situation, a United Nations spokesperson said.
In an update on the situation left behind by the devastating floods, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary general, told a briefing in New York that even as water levels recede, more than 20 million people continue to depend on aid, observing that reconstruction measures were being taken in some cities.
“To date, in support of the government response, our humanitarian partners have reached more than 4.7 million people with aid since the onset of the flood,” Dujarric told reporters.
Some 2.6 million people have received food assistance, he said. “Our [humanitarian] partners have also helped 125,000 children to resume their education, including through more than 500 temporary learning centres.”
However, schools remain inaccessible for more than two million children.
“More resources are urgently needed,” the spokesman said, noting that so far only 23 percent of the $816 million floods response plan has been received.
Energy response system
Meanwhile, the deputy foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, stressed the need for a time-responsive, well-funded, and strategically robust emergency response system.
Speaking at a pledging event of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), held in a hybrid format in New York, Khar also emphasised the impartiality and non-politicisation of such a response system.
Recalling the humanitarian impact of the recent devastating climate-induced floods in Pakistan, Rabbani acknowledged and appreciated the critical assistance provided by the fund.
She echoed Antonio Guterres’s call for scaled-up funding to CERF, enabling it to assist the developing countries braving climate-induced disasters.
The event was organised at the UN Headquarters to garner international attention and support for the CERF enabling it to respond to emergency humanitarian needs across the globe.
Established in 2005 as the UN global emergency response fund, CERF enables humanitarian responders to deliver life-saving assistance, wherever required.
Pakistan has been a beneficiary and a regular contributor to the Fund. In response to the recent flooding, CERF allocated $10 million to Pakistan for life-saving humanitarian activities.
