The United Kingdom (UK) announced on Friday that it will provide an additional £10 million of life-saving humanitarian support for Pakistan’s flood relief efforts.
This additional support brings the UK government’s total contribution towards flood relief in Pakistan to £26.5 million. Of this, £21.5 million contributes to the relief efforts in areas worst hit by the flooding.
The remaining £5 million was donated directly to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Pakistan Floods Appeal, after the UK government matched the £5 million of DEC donations from the UK public.
The DEC appeal has notably been supported by England’s cricket team that toured Pakistan for the T20s last month, and made a personal donation that was then matched by the England Cricket Board.
The additional £10 million aid will be spent on urgent life-saving needs such as providing shelter, water and sanitation to prevent waterborne diseases.
Read A month later, Pakistan’s flood victims continue to flounder
It aims to support those who have been displaced by the flood and assist those returning to their land, by helping re-establish communal water supplies.
According to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the floods have destroyed or damaged two million houses, with 546,000 people now living in relief camps.
The disaster has also damaged 12,716km of roads and 22,000 schools. A total of 745 health centres have also been damaged or destroyed.
In addition to the £26.5 million donation in humanitarian funding, a UK Royal Air Force flight recently delivered eight boats and 10 portable generators to assist flood relief operations.
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are offering free relief shipments, in their cargo, of any aid goods being sent from the UK to Pakistan.
Minister's visit
Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, the UK Minister of State for the Middle East, South Asia and the United Nations at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), arrived in Pakistan today.
During his visit, Lord Ahmad will meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other government officials, to discuss the impact of the floods, the response to the crisis and long-term recovery for the country.
He will also visit the areas most affected by the floods and speak to the UK-funded aid agencies on the ground in Sindh.
Read more SC seeks details of flood relief in Sindh
Lord (Tariq) Ahmad said, “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," he said.
In addition to helping with urgent life-saving needs, the minister stated that, "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.”
Further, the minister aims to raise strong international support for Ukraine and reaffirm the strong bilateral ties between the UK and Pakistan.
During the COP26 Conference in Glasgow last year, the UK pledged over £55 million to partner with Pakistan to "fight climate change, manage water more sustainably and unlock climate investment".
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