VIDEO: Song depicting flood-hit community’s difficulties draws attention

As the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan in Geneva approaches, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on Sunday released a song 'Aao Hum Kucch Aisa Karein' to highlight the troubles and hardships faced by the flood victims before the world and stimulate the zeal of help among people.

The song, according to the Foreign Office spokesperson, was released ahead of the conference commencing tomorrow (Monday) onward in Geneva, Switzerland.

Shakeel Asghar Malik, an official of the Foreign Service of Pakistan, is the writer, composer and singer of the musical number. While its musical score has been designed and recorded under the supervision of veteran music maestro Mujahid Hussain.

"As Conference on Climate Resilient [Pakistan] gets underway in #Geneva tomorrow, a song titled "Aao Hum Kucch Aisa Karein" captioned in English as "Acts of Humanity" has been launched," a tweet by the Foreign Office read.

Titled in English as Acts of Humanity, the track has been produced as a dedication towards the affectees of the catastrophic floods which impacted the country's 33 million people with loss of human lives, livestock, agriculture, and infrastructure in the process.

The number appeals to the moral imperative of helping the flood-stricken people who have been living a challenging life amid the difficulties they have been confronted with since the calamity struck their lives.

More than $16bn is needed to help Pakistan recover from devastating floods that submerged a third of the country in 2022, and to better resist the impact of climate change, the United Nations said earlier this week.

In a bid to meet the towering needs, Pakistan premier and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are set to host an international conference in Geneva next week.

The one-day event will gather high-level representatives from dozens of countries, including several heads of state and government, who have yet to be named.

While not strictly a pledging conference, UN and Pakistani representatives said that it aimed to mobilise support as the country tries to rebuild after the massive floods that left more than 1,700 people dead and affected over 30 million others.

"The needs are around $16.3bn," Knut Ostby, the UN Development Programme's representative in Pakistan, told reporters.

Speaking by video from Islamabad, Syed Haider Shah, who heads the UN division in Pakistan's foreign ministry, said his country hoped to cover half that amount through its own "domestic resources".

"For the rest, we are looking at the donor support," he said.

"This is a pivotal moment for the global communities to stand with the people of Pakistan," said Khalil Hashmi, the country's UN envoy in Geneva, while stressing that the conference would be the beginning of a multiyear process".

The number of people facing food insecurity had doubled to 14.6 million, he said.

In Geneva, Pakistan is due to present a document laying out a wide-ranging strategy aimed at a climate-resilient recovery and reconstruction.

Pakistan, with the world's fifth-largest population, is responsible for just 0.8 per cent of global greenhouse emissions but is also one the most vulnerable countries to extreme weather caused by climate change.