Home Latest News Pakistan, U.N. to Revise Upwards Flash Appeal for Flood Aid

Pakistan, U.N. to Revise Upwards Flash Appeal for Flood Aid

U.N. official says initial appeal of $160 million insufficient while lamenting that only a fraction of pledged amounts have materialized thus far

by Staff Report

Rescue workers evacuate flood-hit people from Rajanpur, Punjab

Pakistan and the United Nations will be revising upwards a $160 million flash appeal for aid to overcome the devastation caused by floods, as more funds are now needed, a U.N. official announced on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference in New York alongside UNICEF Field Operations chief Scott Whoolery, U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Julien Harneis said the original appeal was proving insufficient considering the size of the catastrophe. “Over the next 10 days, the United Nations and Pakistan would be revising upward the flash appeal as now we need more funds,” he said, adding that concerns were also mounting of a “second disaster” from diseases and malnutrition as the rescue phase shifts to rehabilitation.

“We intend to complete the process, which will coincide with the briefing on floods to U.N. member states in Geneva, on Oct. 4,” he said, adding that just $60 million of the original appeal for $160 million had been received so far. “We are getting good support from member states, [but] we need to convert those more quickly into money so as to convert plans into actions,” he stressed.

Reiterating that the current priority was to forestall the health crisis in flood-affected areas, he said victims were already under threat from drinking polluted water and swarms of mosquitos infecting them with malaria. “As in such a humanitarian situation accountability becomes essential, the acting speaker of Sindh Assembly has notified creation of a special committee consisting of cross-party members to monitor the humanitarian work and to discuss priorities with humanitarian organizations,” he said.

Funding gap

The U.N. official said financial tracking had shown that education, logistics and protection clusters had so far remained unfunded against a requirement of $10.2 million for education; $1.1 million for logistics, and $13.2 million for protection. He also stressed that food security and agriculture had received only $6.6 million out of a required $48 million despite over four million acres of crops being destroyed in Sindh and Balochistan. Similarly, he said, the health sector had received only $3.4 million against the asked for $22.8 million.

For nutrition, said Harneis, only $2.3 million had been received against $9 million needed; while non-food items had received $2.5 million against a required $31 million and water and sanitation had received just $7.1 million against a requirement of $25 million.

UNICEF’s Whoolery, meanwhile, regretted that while 500 children had died during the floods, fears were mounting over those still living in flood-hit areas. “We’re not worried about hundreds. We’re worried about thousands,” he said, referring to the possibility of more deaths due to deteriorating health conditions. “Many of them we probably will never know, they won’t be counted,” he added.

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