UN ups flood aid appeal for Pakistan

The United Nations has increased its aid appeal for Pakistan, where more than five million people are facing a severe food crisis in the wake of recent devastating floods, sweeping away property and infrastructure.
At least 1,700 people, including over 600 children, lost their lives to the floodwaters. A total 33 million people were affected after record-breaking rains triggered flash flooding across the country.
UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Pakistan Julien Harneis on Monday said the world body was now seeking $816m for flood-relief efforts, revised upwards from its initial appeal for $160m in August, when heavy rains and floods unleashed destruction.
“We are now entering a second wave of death and destruction. There will be an increase in child morbidity, and it will be terrible unless we act rapidly to support the government in increasing the provision of health, nutrition and water and sanitation services across the affected areas,” Harneis told reporters at a media briefing in Geneva.
The Pakistani government and UN have both repeatedly blamed climate change for the floods and sought debt relief as a means to support the country.
In its latest report on Saturday, the UN office for coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA) said 8.62 million people in 28 districts were estimated to be in crisis and enduring the emergency phases of food security between September and November 2022, “including some 5.74 million people in flood-affected districts covered by the assessment”.
The OCHA report also noted that “water-borne and vector-borne diseases” are of “growing concern”, particularly in the hard-hit provinces of Sindh and Balochistan.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said during a visit to Pakistan in September that he had “never seen climate carnage” on such a scale.
He also blamed rich countries for the crisis, as G20 nations are responsible for 80 percent of current carbon emissions.- NewsAgencies