US ramps up aid for Pakistan floods with military airlift
Pakistan
US ramps up aid for Pakistan floods with military airlift
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – As Pakistan struggles to deal with disastrous floods that are likely to take years to recover from, the United States is stepping up its help for the nation and starting a days-long US military airlift into the nation.
As part of the $20 million in additional funding the Biden administration is providing for humanitarian aid, the US military started airlifting supplies into Pakistan this week, according to Samantha Power, director of the US Agency for International Development, who made the announcement on Friday.
The announcement comes as it becomes more and more obvious that Pakistan is unable to give more than 33 million people impacted by the crisis even the most basic relief. Most people who have abandoned their houses are now staying in makeshift shelters, and many of them complain that they cannot get food, clean water, or medical care.
An estimated 33 million people have been affected, nearly 1,400 have died, and more than 12,700 have been injured. Infrastructure in the flooding’s path has been decimated, with more than 1.7 million homes, an estimated 13.8 million acres of cropland, thousands of miles of road and hundreds of bridges damaged or destroyed.
This support builds on an announcement last week of $30 million in humanitarian assistance to help the people of Pakistan affected by these devastating floods. Since August 12, the United States has provided over $50.1 million in disaster assistance to help the people of Pakistan.
With these additional funds, USAID partners will continue to provide emergency relief supplies, multi-purpose cash and shelter assistance, support for livelihoods, logistics, and humanitarian response coordination systems. USAID will also prioritize water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) assistance as a preventative measure to mitigate the anticipated spread of waterborne diseases.
USAID has also deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to lead the U.S. government’s humanitarian response efforts in Pakistan. This elite team, composed of disaster experts from USAID, is assessing the damage, identifying priority needs, and coordinating with the Government of Pakistan and humanitarian partners. The United States is the single largest humanitarian donor to Pakistan.
