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UN Chief Antonio Guterres will visit flood-affected Pakistan next week on a solidarity visit and see how the UN is working to support the government’s efforts to provide aid to millions of people affected by unprecedented flooding. The visit was announced as the Pakistani government launched a $160 million flash appeal on Tuesday to work closely with the United Nations to respond to the disaster that has displaced more than 33 million people in the country, which is “innovative”. of global warming.
The death toll across the country rose to 1,162 on Wednesday, with 3,554 injured and more than 33 million people displaced, according to data released by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). In a statement Tuesday, the United Nations said Secretary-General Guterres would visit Pakistan in solidarity with the plight of millions of men, women and children affected by historic flooding.
The Secretary General is expected to arrive in Islamabad on September 9 and then tour the areas worst affected by the unprecedented weather disaster. Antonio Guterres will meet displaced families and see how the United Nations, along with its humanitarian partners, is working to support government relief efforts and provide assistance to millions of people.
Also Read: UN Launches $160 Million Response Plan in Pakistan as Devastating Monsoons Continue
He is expected to return to New York on September 11. Pakistani Foreign Affairs Spokesman Asim Iftikhar Ahmad welcomed the UN chief’s visit, saying: “It will greatly contribute to our collective efforts to address the impact of this disaster.
“His visit will further mobilise international assistance,” he added. Earlier, in a video message on Tuesday on the flash appeal in support of the Pakistan Flood Response Plan, Guterres said the country is awash in suffering.” The Pakistani people are facing a monsoon on steroids — the relentless impact of epochal levels of rain and flooding. This climate catastrophe has killed more than 1,000 people with many more injured, he said. Millions have been rendered homeless, schools and health facilities have been destroyed, livelihoods are shattered, critical infrastructure wiped out, and people’s hopes and dreams have washed away, Guterres said.
The Pakistan Flood Response Plan (FRP) 2022 was jointly launched by the Government of Pakistan and the United Nations simultaneously in Islamabad and Geneva. The FRP was launched against the background of devastating rains, floods and landslides that affected more than 33 million people in different parts of Pakistan.
The FRP focuses on the needs of 5.2 million people, including food security, agriculture and livestock, shelter and non-food items, nutrition programs, primary health, security, life-saving response activities for an amount of $160.3 million. Sanitation, support for women’s health and education, as well as shelter for displaced people. Guterres said that in response to the devastation, the Pakistani government has released funds, including immediate cash assistance, but the level of demand, such as flooding, is increasing and requires the world’s collective and priority attention.
