UNITED NATIONS, Sep 28 (APP): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, his top officials and representatives of key nations Wednesday reaffirmed support for Pakistan as it pushes ahead with the massive task of rebuilding following last year\u2019s \u201capocalyptic\u201d flood that submerged a third of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The occasion was an informal meeting of the U.N. General Assembly convened to review the implementation of its last year\u2019s resolution calling on the world community to increase aid and keep up the political will to support the country\u2019s recovery long-term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That resolution also expressed solidarity with the government and people of Pakistan in dealing with the aftermath of the devastation left behind by the climate-induced deluge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Record-breaking floods in Pakistan affected over 33 million people and killed 1,700 or more. Nearly 8 million people were displaced, with many still living in tents and makeshift homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are here for the people of Pakistan,\u201d the UN chief, who saw the huge damage for himself during a visit to the flood-hit country in August 2022, said in his keynote speech to the delegates in the UN\u2019s Trusteeship Council chamber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will never forget the climate-related carnage I saw. Lives, homes, livelihoods, schools, hospitals \u00ad all obliterated,\u201d
Guterres said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBillions were pledged\u201d by rich nations in the aftermath of the disaster,he said, \u201cbut the vast majority was in loans. And Pakistan is still waiting for much of the funding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDelays are undermining people\u2019s efforts to rebuild their lives,\u201d the UN chief said,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some $9 billion was pledged to help reconstruct Pakistan in January, though it is still reeling from the effects of the heavy monsoon rains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhile much of the water has receded, the needs have not,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen the floods hit Pakistanis were first to help each other,\u201d Guterres said, adding that the United Nations stood with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that as of now 69 percent of the $816 million UN appeal for immediate aid and protection has been funded, the amount sought for Pakistan\u2019s Floods Response Plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Expressing gratitude to the \u201cesteemed\u201d Secretary-General , Pakistan\u2019s UN Ambassador Munir Akram said he was with the people of Pakistan all the way; visiting those affected, issuing an Emergency appeal, mobilizing relief, and then working with Pakistan and other development partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The partners included the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Union, the UNDP and the Resident Coordinator to develop, first, a Post-Disaster National Assessment, and then the Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Framework (the 4RF Plan).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pakistan, Ambassador Akram said, is grateful for the solidarity and support displayed by the international community. OCHA (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) Emergency Response Fund was critical in the early stages of the disaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Noting that OCHA\u2019s Flood Response Plan has received $563 million, or 69 percent, of the $816 million requested, the Pakistani envoy said, \u201cWe hope it will be fully funded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mechanisms for the timely implementation and oversight of the Plan have been established \u2014 the Policy and Strategy Committee, and Oversight Board, and the Recovery and Reconstruction \u00ad Project Managemment Unit; and the Investment Partners\u2019 Support Group, he told delegates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Implementation of the Plan is underway, Ambassador Akram said. Sindh, the worst affected province, with funding from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, and its own resources, has launched a multifaceted reconstruction strategy, encompassing the reconstruction of 2 million homes, flood assistance and rehabilitation, a Water and Agriculture Transformation Project, and projects for integrated health and women\u2019s empowerment and strengthening of the social protection delivery system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The projects worth $16.3 billion in the 4RF Plan which received funding pledges at the Geneva Conference were for the reconstruction of the direct damage caused by the epic floods. The 4RF also contained a supplementary component of projects to induct \u201cresilience\u201d into the reconstruction, especially in water and irrigation and road and rail transportation, costing t $13.5 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his remarks, Guterres, the UN chief, said how the world responds now to Pakistan\u2019s struggles is a \u201clitmus test\u201d for climate justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPakistan needs and deserves massive support from the international community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite contributing less than one per cent of global emissions, Pakistan\u2019s people face a staggering 15 times higher risk of dying from climate-related impacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPakistan is a double victim \u00ad of climate chaos, and of our outdated and unjust global financial system that prevents middle-income countries from accessing much-needed resources to invest in adaptation and resilience,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even today, according to UN, the response continues as UN and partners assist people in flood-ravaged areas, after further punishing rains fell this summer and Pakistan\u2019s economy struggles to recover. Agencies such as the UN Development Programme (UNDP) are also helping people rebuild livelihoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dennis Francis, President of the General Assembly, urged Member States and the broader UN system to maintain their steadfast support for recovery and reconstruction endeavours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI urge Member States and stakeholders to step forward and fill the funding gaps needed to mobilize resources,\u201d he said, emphasizing the need to address funding shortfalls for both climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to UN Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF), around eight million people (half of them children) in flood-affected areas, remain without access to safe water, 3.5 million children remain out of school, and about 1.5 million require lifesaving nutrition assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe situation facing many people in flood-affected areas is dire, and it comes on top of other pre-existing problems and inequities,\u201d said Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut the challenges are not insurmountable \u2026 we have a reall opportunity to drive lasting positive change for Pakistan\u2019s children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Guterres, the UN chief, also reiterated his warning that climate chaos is knocking on everyone\u2019s door, adding that today, however, it\u2019s beating that door down, from the Horn of Africa to Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCarbon emissions are heating our planet, killing people, destroying communities and devastating economies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Besides heads of UN agencies and funds, representatives of the European Union (EU), Qatar, Denmark, Turkeiye, Japan, UAE, Azerbaijan, Vietnam, Sierra Leone, Canada, U.K., Russia, Egypt, United States and Saudi Arabia
addressed the Assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The international system must support vulnerable countries, the secretary-general said, and called for
operationalizing the Loss and Damage Fund and replenishing the Green Climate Fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UN chief also called for delivering the $100 billion US dollars, and double [climate] finance for adaptation and resilience.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 28 (APP): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, his top officials and representatives of key nations Wednesday reaffirmed support for Pakistan as it pushes ahead with the massive task of rebuilding following last year\u2019s \u201capocalyptic\u201d flood that submerged a third of the country. The occasion was an informal meeting of the U.N. General Assembly […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":7063,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,396,82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia","category-latest","category-paksitan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7062"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}