SHIKARPUR: US Ambassador Donald Blome announced on Thursday (27th of October, 2022) an additional $30 million in humanitarian assistance to support flood-affected populations in Pakistan.

“Good morning. Asalamu Aleikum. I am US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome.

“First, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the victims of these catastrophic floods. Approximately 33 million people have been affected by flooding in Pakistan, including the individuals I met today.

“These families have suffered immensely. Many have lost loved ones. Many more have lost their homes and personal belongings.

“Current estimates indicate that 2.3 million homes have been damaged or destroyed by the flooding. The scale of this disaster is staggering.

“Getting US assistance to Pakistanis who need it most is made possible through our partnerships with international organizations and NGOs.

“Today I am joined by representatives from two of our UN partners, the International Organization for Migration, and the World Food Program.

“I would also like to acknowledge the work of our NGO implementing partners like ACTED, which is working here at this site helping Pakistanis recover from this tragedy.

“I would also like to recognize local government officials here today: Jam Ikram Dharejo, Provincial Minister for Industries, Commerce & Cooperative Societies and Abid Hussain Bhayo, Member of National Assembly and Federal Minister for Privatization.

“Today, I am pleased to announce an additional $30 million in humanitarian assistance to support the flood response, bringing the total amount of US Government support to more than $97 million.

This new $30 million in funding will:

“Expand efforts to address immediate needs, scaling up assistance to the most affected communities and enabling our assistance to reach nearly 2 million people.

“This additional funding will provide life-saving food, nutrition, and health assistance and treat the rise of diseases resulting from stagnant flood waters.

“The new funding will also provide shelter supplies to help families rebuild, and winterization kits to help families prepare as cold weather approaches.

“Because women and girls are disproportionately impacted by natural disasters, the United States is providing increased support to prevent gender-based violence as well as provide support for survivors.

“Finally, logistics support to partners will help accelerate the delivery of relief assistance to those in need.

“The US Government remains a committed partner to Pakistan. With nearly $100 million in U.S. Government assistance supporting Pakistanis who need the most help, we are providing food, shelter, and health assistance as rapidly and transparently as possible.

“The US military delivered nearly 630 metric tons of relief commodities to Pakistan via 15 flights in the initial stages of the crisis. The USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team, or DART, deployed to Pakistan immediately to both assess the damage and ensure assistance went to exactly where it was needed. And our work continues.

“As we commemorate 75 years of relations between our two countries, today’s announcement of $30 million in additional emergency funding is another manifestation of our longstanding commitment to the Pakistani people.

“We call on our partner governments around the world to join us in increasing their own commitments, to help Pakistan rebuild and recover.”

PM Shehbaz Sharif took to the Twitter to thank US for the assistance: “Grateful to US govt for the announcement of an additional $ 30 million in humanitarian assistance for flood victims.

“With the start of winter, challenges of food, health & shelter still persist. World should promptly contribute to UN aid appeal to mitigate the impact of tragedy.”

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari appreciates the US support:

Hailing the US support Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Tweeted: “The single most important issue is still assisting the flood victims across our country. From Sukkur today US Ambassador has announced an additional $30 million dollars of assistance. We are grateful to our American friends for their consistent support in this difficult time.”

This new funding brings the US total assistance to Pakistan for flood response, food security, and disaster preparedness and capacity building efforts to $97 million this year.

US Ambassador Donald Blome made the announcement during a visit with USAID’s implementing partner, ACTED in the Shikarpur District of Sindh, where he helped to distribute emergency shelter, latrine, and hygiene kits to flood-affected people.

Donald Blome also traveled to Makhno Village where USG emergency shelter kits are being used as temporary housing by the flood-affected community.

While there, US Ambassador Donald Blome spoke with flood victims to learn about the impact of the flooding and understand their needs

The new funding will expand efforts to address immediate needs, scaling up assistance to the most affected communities and enabling USAID to reach more than 4 million people.

With the additional funding, the US government, through USAID, will provide life-saving food, nutrition, and health assistance to mitigate increased food insecurity and malnutrition resulting from the impact of the floods, as well as curb the rise of diseases resulting from stagnant flood waters.

The new US funding will also provide shelter supplies to help families rebuild as well as winterization kits to help families prepare as cold weather approaches.

And because women and girls are disproportionately impacted by natural disasters, like flooding, the US is providing increased protection support to prevent gender-based violence as well as provide support for survivors.

Finally, logistics support to partners will help accelerate the delivery of relief assistance to those in need.

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