The Diplomat
The Government of Spain, through the Spanish Cooperation Agency (AECID), has contributed 300,000 euros to the humanitarian aid appeal for Pakistan by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), according to the AECID on its website.
AECID’s contribution answers to an appeal to help 324,040 affected people, carrying out operations aimed at comprehensive assistance (shelter, livelihoods and multipurpose cash transfers), health and care including WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), protection and prevention (gender, inclusion, risk reduction, adaptation and climate change recovery) among other needs.
In addition, AECID’s Humanitarian Action Office has contributed 2.5 million in 2022 to the CERF (Central Emergency Response Fund) of the United Nations. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which manages this fund, has decided to allocate 3 million dollars to Pakistan.
According to the AECID communiqué, this allocation from the Fund will make it possible to urgently scale up the response in Balochistan in support of the government. UN agencies and partners will provide assistance to 90,000 of the most vulnerable affected people, including medical care, clean water and sanitation support, malnutrition services and agricultural support.
Floods and landslides caused by heavy monsoon rains in recent days have affected more than 5 million people leaving more than 1,000 people dead so far.
The southwestern province of Balochistan is the region worst affected by the monsoon where rainfall has risen to 3.5 times its 30-year average and some 360,000 people have been affected and displaced.
Destruction of crops and livestock, major damage to bridges, railways and roads, and disruption to access to clean water and health care have increased the associated health risks, making Balochistan the region with the highest rates of malnutrition and food insecurity in the country. The rains have also severely affected the provinces of Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
