Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday provided a $3 million grant to Pakistan for the relief of people affected by recent floods in Sindh and Baluchistan. The emergency assistance from ADB’s Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund will help the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to ensure provision of food, drinking water, medicines and tents for desperate victims, many already affected by last year’s flood, at the onset of the winter. ADB’s Country Director for Pakistan Dr Werner Liepach after signing the agreement with Abdul Wajid Rana, Secretary Economic Affairs Division said that ADB stands by the people of Pakistan in these difficult times.
He said that the grant will increase NDMA’s ability to reach out to poor and the most vulnerable groups particularly women and children facing a desperate situation. Many families have lost their entire belongings and source of livelihood and are in urgent need of food and shelter. According to the United Nations, 54 million people have been affected by this year’s floods displacing 1.8 million people. NDMA’s initial estimates put the number of houses destroyed or partially damaged at 645,000 and 580,000 respectively. 413 people have died and more than 700 have suffered injuries during the disaster. ADB and the World Bank are jointly assessing the extent of damages. The assessment is expected to help the Government of Pakistan and other partners in charting out a plan of action to restore basic services and rebuild irrigation and flood protection structures, so that affected families could resume their lives with peace of mind’, Dr Liepach added.