{"id":8779,"date":"2023-09-28T15:46:05","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T15:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/un-chief-urges-support-for-double-victim-pakistan-after-floods-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2023-09-28T15:46:05","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T15:46:05","slug":"un-chief-urges-support-for-double-victim-pakistan-after-floods-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/un-chief-urges-support-for-double-victim-pakistan-after-floods-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"UN chief urges support for ‘double victim’ Pakistan after floods | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nISLAMABAD:
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The UN secretary general has urged for support for Pakistan, which continues rebuilding in the wake of last year\u2019s devastating floods, calling the country a “double victim” of “climate chaos” and “unjust” global financial system.<\/p>\n

\u201cPakistan is a double victim \u2013 of climate chaos, and of our outdated and unjust global financial system that prevents middle-income countries from accessing much needed resources to invest in adaptation and resilience,\u201d said Antonio Guterres in an address at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Triggered by torrential monsoon rains, the 2022 floods submerged one third of Pakistan, claimed over 1,700 lives, destroyed 2 million homes, critical infrastructure, and affected 33 million people \u2013 half of them children, according to UN figures.<\/p>\n

The government, supported by the UN launched a flood response plan, requesting $816 million to support 9.5 million of the most affected people. That appeal is about 69% funded.<\/p>\n

“Pakistan needs and deserves massive support from the international community,” he said.<\/p>\n

“The country is responsible for less than 1% of greenhouse gas emissions \u2013 but its people are 15 times more likely to die from climate-related impacts than people elsewhere.”<\/p>\n

Read also: Pakistan pushing for $10b flood-relief fund disbursement<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Guterres said “Pakistan is a litmus test for climate justice” and countries that contributed most to global heating must contribute most to “righting the harm it has done.”<\/p>\n

“I will never forget the climate-related carnage I saw. Lives, homes, livelihoods, schools, hospitals \u2013 all obliterated,” he said.<\/p>\n

“And I will never forget the stories I heard \u2013 particularly from women and men who abandoned their own homes and possessions to save their neighbours from the rising waters … While much of the water has receded, the needs have not.”<\/p>\n

The secretary general said billions were pledged, but Pakistan is still waiting for much of the funding, with delays “undermining people\u2019s efforts to rebuild their lives.”<\/p>\n

He called on donors, and international financial institutions “to make good on their commitments, and put the money they have promised on the table as soon as possible.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n