UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit flood-ravaged Pakistan next week for a solidarity visit as well as to see how the UN is assisting the government's efforts to assist millions of people affected by the unprecedented floods.
The visit was announced after Pakistan's cash-strapped government teamed up with the UN on Tuesday and issued a flash appeal for USD 160 million to deal with the disaster, which has displaced over 33 million people in the country that has become the "ground zero" of global warming. According to data released by the National Disaster Management Authority (NMDA), the chief national body tasked with dealing with disasters, the country's death toll reached 1,162 on Wednesday, with 3,554 injured and over 33 million displaced.
The UN said in a statement on Tuesday that Secretary-General Guterres will pay a solidarity visit to Pakistan due to the "tragic situation facing millions of men, women, and children impacted by historic floods." The Secretary-General is expected to arrive in Islamabad on September 9 and then travel to the areas hardest hit by the unprecedented climate disaster.
Guterres will meet with displaced families and see how the UN is collaborating with humanitarian partners to support the government's relief efforts and provide assistance to millions of people. He is scheduled to return to New York on September 11.
Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, welcomed the UN Secretary-visit, General's saying, "it will contribute significantly to our collective effort to highlight the impact of this disaster." "His visit will help to mobilise additional international assistance," he added. Guterres previously stated in a video message on Tuesday about the flash appeal in support of the Pakistan Flood Response Plan that the country is "awash in suffering." "The Pakistani people are dealing with a monsoon on steroids, with unprecedented rain and flooding." "This climate disaster has killed over 1,000 people and injured many more," he said.
Millions have been displaced, schools and health facilities have been destroyed, livelihoods have been shattered, critical infrastructure has been destroyed, and people's hopes and dreams have been washed away, according to Guterres. The Government of Pakistan and the United Nations jointly launched the "2022 Pakistan Floods Response Plan (FRP)" in Islamabad and Geneva.
The FRP is being launched in the aftermath of devastating rains, floods, and landslides that have affected over 33 million people across Pakistan. The FRP focuses on the needs of 5.2 million people, with USD 160.3 million in life-saving response activities covering food security, agricultural and livestock assistance, shelter and non-food items, nutrition programmes, primary health services, protection, water and sanitation, women's health, and education support, as well as shelter for displaced people.
According to Guterres, the government of Pakistan has released funds, including immediate cash relief, in response to the devastation, but the scale of needs is rising like flood waters, necessitating the world's collective and prioritised attention.
The Government of Pakistan's Flash Appeal for USD 160 million to support the response will provide food, water, sanitation, emergency education, protection, and health support to 5.2 million people, he said. South Asia, according to Guterres, is one of the world's global climate crisis hotspots, with residents 15 times more likely to die as a result of climate impacts.
