The World Bank announced a $2.05 billion aid package for Pakistan, the greatest promise of aid so far. Floods have displaced millions of people and ruined crops, 500,000 homes, and thousands of kilometers (miles) of roads.
This year’s unprecedented monsoon rains and flooding, which many experts attribute to climate change. It has harmed over 13,000 people across the country since mid-June.
The World Bank’s vice president for South Asia, Martin Raiser, announced the pledge in an overnight statement. On Saturday, he concluded his first visit to the country.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of lives and livelihoods due to the devastating floods and we are working with the federal and provincial governments to provide immediate relief to those who are most affected,” he said.
Thousands of temporary medical camps for flood survivors have been set up in the province, where infections of typhoid, malaria, and dengue fever have killed at least 300 people, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. The death toll prompted the World Health Organization to issue a warning about a “second disaster” last week. As medics on the ground hustle to address outbreaks.
