Ottawa: As Pakistan has been suffering from heavy monsoon rains and floods since mid-June, causing the deaths of over 1,000 people and affecting the lives of 33 million people across the country, the government of Canada today announced $5 million in funding for humanitarian assistance.
“Millions are being impacted by the devastating flooding in Pakistan. The world needs to support them. Today I am committing $5 million in initial funding for our trusted partners to scale up the humanitarian response and provide critical aid to those in urgent need,” Harjit Singh Sajjan, Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada said.
The flood after heavy rain has devastated the southern part of Pakistan. Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif, facing an economic crisis, has urged the world for financial assistance.
Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have sent aid to Pakistan. Food items and essential goods have been sent by cargo plane. While the IMF has given assistance of $ 1.7 billion for Pakistan. Pakistan has also requested import vegetables and oil from India.
Meanwhile, the government of Canada in a statement said that Canada’s support will help scale-up the humanitarian response to provide critical emergency assistance, including food and cash assistance for the most severely affected people. The funding will support the work of trusted and experienced partners on the ground.
Over the past 3 months, Pakistan has experienced 375.4 mm of rainfall, nearly 3 times higher than the country’s average amount. As heavy rains have continued over the past 2 weeks, flooding and landslides have caused massive displacement, damage and devastation.