UK earmarks £10m flood aid for Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The British High Commission on Wednesday announced the allocation of over £10 million ($12.2 million) in humanitarian aid for Pakistan’s flood-hit communities.

The UK positioned itself among the first development partners to support the areas most impacted by the natural disaster. Monsoon rains have caused significant destruction to lives, livelihoods, and crucial infrastructure nationwide, leading to more than 350 deaths, over 650 injuries and damage to over 78,000 homes.

According to the British High Commission, the UK support is focused on meeting the urgent humanitarian and early recovery needs of the most vulnerable families in the 13 districts hardest hit in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan region.

“Working with the Concern Worldwide-led consortium and the World Food Programme, we’re supporting over 130,000 affected families (around 900,000 individuals) through emergency relief and restoration of infrastructure and livelihoods. Our foreign secretary David Lammy’s first speech in his role set out climate, nature and clean energy as top priorities for the UK,” it said in a statement.

The High Commission said the immediate support included provision of temporary shelters, essential relief items as well as cash assistance for the affected families. Work has already begun to restore damaged drinking water and sanitation infrastructure, irrigation channels, remove debris and restore damaged infrastructure.

It added that the agricultural industry was particularly affected by the floods, and the UK was helping restore people’s livelihoods through supporting climate smart agriculture, livestock provision and vocational skills training.

“Monsoon may be ending, but recovery has only just begun. Once again flooding has resulted in a loss of lives, livelihoods and destruction of infrastructure. We’re providing immediate relief and early recovery assistance to families whose lives have been overturned by these floods. But we’re also at the forefront of helping Pakistan improve its resilience against climate change, helping to prevent future disasters,” said British High Commissioner Jane Marriott.

She said climate change was a priority for the UK government. “During the 2022 devastating floods in Pakistan, the UK helped over 2.3 million people, dedicating a total of £39 million in aid. The British people mobilised and raised £41.5 million as part of the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal. The support included emergency cash assistance, shelter kits, nutritional support, learning kits and infrastructure repair,” she said.

Marriott said the UK’s focus was on improving Pakistan’s long-term climate resilience, instead of purely responding to natural disasters. She said the UK had already helped 1.5 million people improve their resilience to extreme climate events and aimed to support three million more people in the next four to five years.