Aid pours in as floods wreck northern Pakistan

Islamabad [Pakistan], September 5 (ANI): The United Kingdom and the United Nations have announced additional humanitarian assistance to Pakistan as severe flooding devastates the northern region and Punjab, with Sindh facing impending threats, Dawn reported.

On Thursday, the UK announced an additional £1.2 million to support the government's coordinated response and help communities in Sindh prepare for floods.

According to a press release from the British High Commission, this brings the UK's total humanitarian assistance to £2.53m, providing life-saving support to more than 400,000 people.

The funds will be channelled through non-governmental organisations in Sindh to strengthen early warning systems, enable community evacuations, pre-position essential supplies and protect livestock.

"Sindh is in a critical window to prepare and reduce the impact of the upcoming floods," British High Commissioner Jane Marriott said. "For every dollar spent on prevention, up to seven dollars are saved in response. More importantly, lives are saved, and destruction is avoided," Dawn reported.

The new aid package follows GBP 1.33m announced on August 22 for early response and relief operations in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan. That support includes food rations, search and rescue operations, mobile medical camps and the restoration of irrigation channels.

The UK has also contributed GBP 500,000 to the Start Ready Disaster Risk Financing system in Pakistan, funds that will assist 20,000 people across Punjab, Sindh and KP.

The UN is working closely with Pakistani authorities to assess the humanitarian impact of the floods. Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher released USD 600,000 from the Regional Humanitarian Pooled Fund to support relief and recovery operations, the UN Information Centre in Islamabad said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed solidarity with Pakistan and commended the authorities for relocating more than one million people in Punjab, according to a statement issued by spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, Dawn reported.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Federal Ministry of Health has issued advisories to curb the heightened risk of disease outbreaks following widespread water contamination.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has warned of rising threats from cholera, typhoid, dengue fever, chikungunya and malaria. The ministry urged citizens to follow protocols outlined in advisories posted on its website and that of the NIH.

Separately, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in its "Desert Locust Bulletin" that Pakistan faces no immediate locust threat.

Surveys in August found no locusts in key summer breeding areas, though very small-scale breeding may still occur. "No significant developments are expected," the report noted, as quoted by Dawn. (ANI)

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