US announces $1m disaster aid

The US government on Friday announced a new $1 million grant in support of Pakistan's ability to address natural disasters, such as the ongoing flooding, according to a statement issued by the US Consulate General in the city.

Funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), this humanitarian assistance will build the resilience of agricultural communities in Sindh, and support disaster management authorities in Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan to better respond to future disasters.

"The people of America stand with the people of Pakistan during this challenging time. Our hearts are with the families who lost loved ones in the floods across Pakistan and who are also dealing with recovery efforts," US Ambassador Donald Blome said in a meeting with Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

"We are proud to help build the resilience of Sindh communities, so they are better able to face such disasters in the future. We remain committed to helping Pakistan recover and rebuild as quickly as possible," Ambassador Blome further said.

Acknowledging the continuing US-Pakistan partnership, Chief Minister Shah said, "The American people have always stood with the people of Pakistan during the challenging times in the past, and now, when torrential rains have wreaked havoc in several parts of Sindh."

He went on to add that the people of Sindh, and in particular the people of Pakistan, are highly grateful for the United States government's announcement of this $1 million grant to bolster Pakistan's ability to address natural disasters.

The United States and Pakistan have worked together for 75 years on issues that are important to both nations, including energy, economic growth, peace and inclusion, education, and health. Since 2002, the US government has provided over $32 billion of support to foster a more stable, peaceful, and prosperous Pakistan.

Chief Minister Murad told the US envoy that eight districts of three divisions in Sindh were badly affected by the heavy rains between June 20 and August 11.

He said that 130 people including 54 men, 11 women and 65 children were killed in the rain related incidents, while 422 were injured.

A total of 723 villages were affected, 548 different roads spread over an area of 2,135kms, 45 bridges, 32 shops, 22,817 houses partially and 4,520 were completely destroyed.

He further said that rains killed 974 cattle heads and damaged crops spread of 6,740 acres of crops destroyed.

Speaking about the Sindh Basic Education Program (SBEP) worth $155 million, the Sindh CM said that $10 million have been funded by the USAID with the support of the provincial government to improve enrolment of children in primary, middle and secondary schools.

SBEP has been ordered to construct 106 schools in various districts of Sindh including Sukkur, Larkana, Khairpur, Kashmore, Dadu, Qamber Shahdadkot, and Jacobabad, and five towns of Karachi namely Lyari, Kemari, Orangi, Bin Qasim and Gadap are included. The efforts of the USAID and Sindh government have helped bring down school dropout rates, Murad said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 13^th, 2022.