United Nations, Sep 7 : United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that he will call to the world for “massive backing” for Pakistan on his next visit to Pakistan, since one-third of the country’s territory is under water. “Tomorrow (Wednesday) Tomorrow (Wednesday) fly to Pakistan to express my sincere gratitude with the Pakistani people and to ask for the overwhelming assistance of the world community for the Pakistanis in this moment of desperate need following the devastating floods we are experiencing,” the UN chief addressed journalists at the UN headquarters in New York before he was on his way to the Security Council chamber for a meeting to discuss the current situation in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine on Tuesday.
The highest UN official stressed the importance of not ignoring the effects of climate change “there is plenty of attention paid to the conflict in Ukraine”, Xinhua news agency reported.
“People often forget that there is a second war, the war we’re fighting against nature and nature is striking back and climate change is accelerating the devastation of the planet we live on,” stated the secretary-general.
“Pakistan, Chad, and the Horn of Africa, where the drought is creating the famine.All of these represent an immense danger to the rest of us,”” he said.
“Today it’s Pakistan.Tomorrow it could be anywhere,” he added.
“To confront with the climate crisis, which is the most pressing issue of our moment, with a business-as-usual approach is akin to suicide,” Guterres said.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres spoke to reporters during the weekly press briefing that the UN and its partners have handed out cash or food aid to more than 336,000 people affected by the flooding in Balochistan province of Pakistan.
“Distributions are in progress to 117,000 persons in Sindh province.” Dujarric said.
“In addition we have provided 32 tonnes of emergency aid to aid children and women including medical supplies and medicines tablets for water purification and safe delivery kits and nutritional supplements that are therapeutic,” he said.
A airlift from Dubai founded by the international body along with its other partners will focus on the areas that are the most affected of the southern Sindh province.
“The three first flights of nine flights scheduled for yesterday arrived with sleeping mats of 40,000 along with 15,000 kitchen sets and five thousand Tarpaulins.Six additional flights are planned in the next few days,” the spokesman added.
According to the federal government of Pakistan More than 1300 individuals have died and more than 12,700 people were injured in the floods.More than 1.1 million homes have been damaged , and around 560,000 homes are destroyed.
More than 630,000 men, women and children are reported to be living in relief camps across Pakistan and the majority of these are in Sindh.
Many more people who are displaced live with hosts communities.
Access is still a challenge with more than 5,700 km of roads that are damaged and 246 bridges damaged or destroyed.
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