Australia pledges $5m in humanitarian assistance for flood victims

Australia will channel this new support through trusted United Nations and NGO partners

ISLAMABAD:

Australia announced on Wednesday that it will double its support to the Pakistan flood response by providing an additional A$5 million in immediate humanitarian assistance, bringing its total support to A$10 million.

According to a press release from the Australian High Commission, the new funding will complement government efforts to address the serious nutrition situation facing communities affected by the devastating floods in Pakistan.

Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Hon Penny Wong, said, "The growing scale of food insecurity and human suffering is deeply concerning. The Australian Government is committed to ensuring our humanitarian assistance responds to the greatest needs."

Australia’s High Commissioner to Pakistan Neil Hawkins, in a meeting with the Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik on February 14 detailed that the additional funding will help alleviate the poor food security and nutrition situation, particularly focusing on women and children.

Australia will channel this new support through trusted United Nations and Non-Government Organisation (NGO) partners.

Australia’s assistance to date has supported cash-based transfers, minor rehabilitation works, and logistics in partnership with the World Food Programme.

Last month, Hawkins visited Sindh, met with flood-affected communities and toured their villages.

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"Thousands of people in Sindh are still suffering from the impacts of the floods. I was pleased to witness our assistance reaching directly into the hands of the most vulnerable. We are determined our support continues to be distributed rapidly and targeting the poorest,” Hawkins said.

Last week, a second Turkish "kindness ship" carrying 900 tons of relief goods for flood victims arrived in Karachi.

The relief goods, including food and kitchen items, blankets, warm clothes, cleaning material, and mattresses, were handed over by the Turkish Consul General in Karachi, Cemal Sangu, on behalf of the Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) to the adviser to CM Sindh on rehabilitation Rasool Bux Chandio Rasool Bux Chandio at a simple ceremony at Karachi Harbor due to Monday's massive earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.

The first ship carrying 863 tons of relief goods arrived in Karachi late last month.

Speaking at the ceremony, Sangu said that despite the massive earthquakes that shook at least 10 provinces and affected 15 million people, Türkiye has not forgotten the flood victims in Pakistan.

Torrential rains and unprecedented floods brought a third of Pakistan under water in September last, affecting some 33 million people, and washing away hundreds of thousands of animals, houses, bridges, schools, hospitals, and other infrastructures.

The near-apocalyptic floods also killed over 1,700 people, in addition to causing a whopping loss of 30 billion dollars to the already sputtering economy.