Pakistan’Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif has said that the country needs nearly USD 30 billion to meet the immediate and long-term needs of the approximately 1,700 people who were affected by the floods last year as he requested cooperation from the international community ahead of significant donors meeting.
Massive floods that devastated the nation last summer affected more than 33 million people, leaving many at the mercy of foreign aid organizations.
Prior to an international meeting that will be jointly sponsored by Pakistan and the UN in Geneva on Monday, Sharif made his remarks as he pleaded for the cooperation of the international community.
According to Sharif, a detailed roadmap for post-flood reconstruction and rehabilitation has been created with the help of the World Bank, the UN, the Asian Development Bank, and the European Union and will be presented during the conference.
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He stated that the blueprint effectively calls for a two-pronged strategy to address the flood’s devastation, adding that the first part relates to meeting the immediate challenges of recovery and reconstruction, requiring minimum funding of USD 16.3 billion over a period of three years.
He explained that Pakistan would meet half the funding from its own resources but “will count on the continued assistance of our bilateral and multilateral partners to bridge the gap”.
According to him, the second part outlines Pakistan’s long-term vision for building climate resilience which would require an investment of USD 13.5 billion over a 10-year period.
Shehbaz urged world leaders, representatives of international development and humanitarian organisations and friends of Pakistan to signal support and solidarity with a country that is grappling with a natural disaster that is not of its making.
The Prime Minister also emphasized his belief that the Geneva meeting is merely the start of a gruelling path, but that a significant outcome will convince millions of people who are in danger that the world community will assist them in rebuilding their lives.
The conference attempts to rally support for the flood-stricken people from the international community, and Pakistan has worked hard to gain as much help from the international community as possible as it strives to assist the impacted people.
This story was adapted from India Today.
