Donors pledge over $9B to help Pakistan recover from deadly floods

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) – International donors on Monday pledged over $9 billion to help Pakistan recover from the lethal floods that devastated the country last year.

The commitments were made at the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan in Geneva, jointly hosted by Pakistan and the UN.

“The conference marked the beginning of a structured process of support for Pakistan’s recovery, aligning humanitarian relief, early recovery with broader long-term sustainable development in a resilient manner,” read a statement by the co-chairs.

“Taken as a whole, these commitments totaled more than $9 billion from both bilateral and multilateral partners.”

In his address, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Pakistan was “doubly victimized by climate chaos and a morally bankrupt global financial system.”

He said the global financial system routinely denies middle-income countries the debt relief and concessional funding needed to invest in resilience against natural disasters.

He identified South Asia as one of the world’s global climate crisis hotspots.

“Today has truly been a day which gives us great hope,” said Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan’s state minister for foreign affairs.

“I think the message from the world is clear: the world will stand by those who go through any natural calamities and will not leave them alone.”

- ‘Unprecedented natural disaster’

A combination of heavy rains and riverine, urban, and flash flooding since last June has led to an “unprecedented natural disaster” in Pakistan, according to the UN.

More than 33 million people have been affected, with more than 1,730 lives lost, 2 million housing units impacted, and several thousand schools and hospitals damaged or destroyed.

Estimates suggest that Pakistan’s national poverty rate could increase, with an additional 9.1 million people at risk of being pushed below the poverty line.

“Housing, agriculture, and livestock, as well as transport and communication sectors, were most impacted. Sindh was the province worst affected by the disaster, followed by Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab,” the statement said.

Pakistan’s government led a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment, prepared with the support of a core group of partners comprising the Asian Development Bank, the European Union, UN agencies, and the World Bank Group, the statement said.

The estimate for funds needed for recovery is over $16 billion.

The figure was also cited by Guterres in his speech, who pointed out that “far more will be needed in the longer term.”​​​​​​​