UN responds to floods affected areas in Sindh: CM
- He said this in his meeting with UN Humanitarian Coordinator Julien here at CM House, said a statement on Friday.
KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said the United Nations has been responding to the flood affected areas of Mirpurkhas and Hyderabad division on humanitarian grounds and sought their greater support for financial assistance of the displaced people.
He said this in his meeting with UN Humanitarian Coordinator Julien here at CM House, said a statement on Friday.
The meeting was attended by Senior Member Board of Revenue (SMBR) Qazi Shahid Parvez, Personal Secretary to CM Sajid Jamal Abro, DG PDMA Salman Shah and UN Provincial Coordination Officer Imran Leghari.
The chief minister said that the United Nations has been responding to the floods in Sindh since the very first day.
The Humanitarian Coordinator, Julien Harneis visited the affected areas on September 18, to assess the situation and discuss how the UN might further support the government response.
Julien Harneis said that since then, $2.5 million had been disbursed from the Pakistan Humanitarian Pooled Fund to provide immediate life saving assistance in providing food, clean water, sanitation and hygiene.
The contributions of donors such as the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (formerly DFiD) and Germany, local organizations such as HANDS, AWARE, SAFWCO, and ARTS Foundation together with international organizations ACTED and NCA were appreciated to provide immediate assistance.
UNHC Julien Harneis told the chief minister that the UN was currently trying to mobilize an additional $3 million to reinforce the earlier response by focusing the assistance on food, water, sanitation, nutrition and health paying particular focus on the health of women and children health.
The CM thanked the efforts of the UN agencies which have been helping since day one in close coordination with the district administration and the PDMA.
The chief minister and UN representatives agreed that the initial humanitarian response needed to be complemented by larger contributions from other donors, such as International Financial Institutions to allow the repair of infrastructure, major rehabilitation and to minimize the risks of disasters and their effects in the future.
The CM and the UN will join their voices towards donors to highlight the existing needs and build a more sustainable and resilient future.
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