UN allocates additional $5mn for Pakistan flood relief, appeals for more funding

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, has allocated an additional $5 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to bolster Pakistan’s ongoing flood response efforts, a UN spokesperson announced.

This latest allocation supplements the $600,000 provided by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Asia and the Pacific Regional Fund, as well as $250,000 from the Pakistan Country-Based Pooled Fund designated for local NGOs.

“The funds will support cash transfers, health services, water and sanitation, shelter, food, and other urgent needs,” said UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric during the daily press briefing at UN Headquarters in New York. He also appealed for further funding to address the worsening humanitarian situation.

“Our humanitarian colleagues are working hand-in-hand with the government,” to provide relief to the survivors in flood-hit areas, he added.

Dujarric cited UN reports indicating that numerous villages remain submerged, with water depths reaching up to 10 meters in some areas—significantly hindering humanitarian access and assessments.

Sanitation, hygiene, healthcare, shelter, food, and clean water have been identified as priority needs.

“Health partners have raised concerns over a spike in waterborne diseases across many flood-affected regions,” Dujarric noted. He confirmed that OCHA has deployed staff to the affected areas in Punjab to support coordination efforts on the ground.

“While these new funds will enable life-saving aid, existing resources are nearly exhausted. Urgent additional funding is critically needed,” he emphasized.