Akm Shehabuddin Kisslu: U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed to the world for ‘massively’ help flood-hit Pakistan
UN chief arrived in the country Friday ,to see the climate-induced devastation from months of deadly floods
Secretary-General Guterres said in Islamabad the world owes impoverished Pakistan “massive” help recovering from devastating floods because other nations have contributed more to the climate change thought to have triggered the deluge. The U.N. chief’s also had appealed just less than two weeks before the trip for $160 million in emergency funding to help those affected by the monsoon rains and floods that have caused at least $10 billion in damages according to Pakistan government .
Months of monsoons and flooding have killed 1,391 people and affected 3.3 million in the Islamic nation. A half-million people there have become homeless. Planeloads of aid from the U.S., the United Arab Emirates and other countries have begun arriving. But there’s more to be done, Guterres said.
Nature has attacked Pakistan, which contributes less than 1% of global emissions, according to multiple experts. Nations ”who are more responsible for climate change…should have faced this challenge,” Secretary-General Guterres said.
“We are heading into a disaster,” He added. “We have waged war on nature and nature is tracking back and striking back in a devastating way. Today in Pakistan, tomorrow in any of your countries.”
Secretary-General Guterres said, other nations contributing to climate change are obligated to reduce emissions and help Pakistan. He assured Sharif that his voice was “entirely at the service of the Pakistani government and the Pakistani people” and that “the entire U.N. system is at the service of Pakistan.”
Earlier, the U.N. Secretary-General took to Twitter, saying, “I appeal for massive support from the international community as Pakistan responds to this climate catastrophe.”
He said “Pakistan has not contributed in a meaningful way to climate change, the level of emissions in this country is relatively low. But Pakistan is one of the most dramatically impacted countries by climate change.”
UN chief Guterres later directed his words to the “international community,” saying that by some estimates, Pakistan needs about $30 billion to recover.
USAID Administrator Samantha Power met with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Islamabad.
U.N. agencies and several countries have sent nearly 60 planeloads of aid, and authorities say the United Arab Emirates is one of the most generous contributors, as it has sent so far 26 flights carrying aid or flood victims.
The floods in Pakistan have also injured 12,722 people, destroyed thousands of kilometers of roads, toppled bridges and damaged schools and hospitals, according to the National Disaster Management Agency.
