The United Nations (UN) has said on Thursday that emergency food help for Pakistan’s flood-devastated towns will run out in January as the fundraising plea for the country had barely garnered a third of its intended response.
Over the course of the summer, Pakistan was battered by uncharacteristic monsoon rains that had submerged a third of the nation, destroyed two million houses and left more than 1,700 people dead.
At a news conference in Islamabad, UN Resident Coordinator for Pakistan Julien Harneis said, “It is of great concern to us to guarantee food security in the following days and weeks for the people affected by rainfall.”
The UN Coordinator further said that its agencies and other NGOs had only received $262 million from international donations despite having made an appeal for more than $816 million.
Harneis continued, “It is really concerning that we are not receiving that funding here whereas other emergency responses throughout the world receive a far larger percentage of response.”
According to the head of the UN mission on the World Food Program Chris Kaye, Pakistan will run out of money for flood relief on January 15. He said that if they don’t receive the necessary funding then a big and very dangerous issue will be ahead moving into 2023.
According to Kaye, the four million individuals who currently required life-saving food assistance will increase to 5.1 million throughout the winter.
The floods have caused between eight and nine million people to fall below the poverty threshold. Huge areas of crops were destroyed by the monsoon, leaving many already poor households without a means of support.
Despite the fact that the majority of the floodwater has receded some homes were still underwater forcing residents to live on raised highways or in makeshift camps.
According to the UN some persons have been coerced into underage labour, child marriage or trafficking.
Pakistan ranks prominently among the countries most susceptible to climate-related extreme weather although producing less than one percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
