Angelina Jolie arrives in Pakistan to help flood victims

KARACHI: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Special Envoy and Hollywood actor Angelina Jolie Tuesday arrived in Pakistan to support communities affected by the devastating floods.

Cataclysmic floods and heavy rains across the country have impacted 33 million people and submerged one-third of the country under water.

Jolie is visiting to witness and gain an understanding of the situation and to hear from affected people about their needs. She will also talk about steps to prevent such suffering in the future, read a statement issued by International Rescue Committee (IRC).

Jolie, who previously visited victims of the 2010 floods and the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, will visit the IRC’s emergency response operations and local organisations assisting displaced people including Afghan refugees.

Pakistan, which has contributed just 1% of global carbon emissions, is also the second largest host of refugees globally, its people having sheltered Afghan refugees for over forty years.

Jolie will highlight the need for urgent support for the Pakistani people and long-term solutions to address the multiplying crises of climate change, human displacement and protracted insecurity we are witnessing globally.

Jolie will see first-hand how countries like Pakistan are paying the greatest cost for a crisis they did not cause.

Her visit will shed light on this issue and prompt the international community - particularly states contributing the most to carbon emissions - to act and provide urgent support to countries bearing the brunt of the climate crisis, read the statement.