UN releases $600,000 in emergency relief funds for Pakistan

The UN secretary-general’s spokesperson confirmed this week the UN has released $600,000 in emergency relief funds for Pakistan.

The news comes at a time when the death toll from deadly monsoon rains and floods across the country has crossed 800. 

Monsoon rains have wreaked havoc across Pakistan, damaging crops, killing livestock and destroying thousands of houses in the country. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has reported 802 deaths from monsoon rains and floods since Jun. 26 and 1,088 injuries.

Rain continues to batter several parts of the country, especially its eastern, most populous Punjab province, where rising water levels in the Sutlej and Ravi rivers have prompted authorities to evacuate over 170,000 people from vulnerable areas. 

“The [Pakistani] authorities are leading the response, with support from the United Nations and local partners,” Stéphane Dujarric, the UN secretary-general’s spokesperson, told reporters during a media briefing. 

“Over the weekend, Tom Fletcher, our Emergency Relief Coordinator, released $600,000 from the regional pooled fund to support the ongoing efforts.”

Unusually heavy rains since Aug. 15 have killed 489 people and left 348 injured. Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has reported the highest deaths since mid-August, 408 and 258 injuries according to figures shared by the NDMA. 

Dujarric said that according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Pakistanis affected by the flooding need shelter supplies, medical assistance, cash, hygiene kits, clean drinking water and education. 

Pakistan’s top economic decision-making body earlier on Tuesday approved the release of Rs3 billion ($10.8 million) in emergency funds for flood-affected families in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region.