Jane Hutt – 2022 Statement on the Welsh Government and the Pakistan Floods Appeal

Following the devastating flooding that recently hit Pakistan, the Welsh Government has made a £100K donation to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Pakistan Floods Appeal.

The torrential floods submerged vast areas of land, leaving over 6 million people in need of urgent help. According to the government of Pakistan, a third of the country – equivalent to an area the size of the UK – is underwater, in what the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called a “climate catastrophe”. Whole villages have been cut off, with rescuers struggling to reach them. At least 1,400 people have been killed and approximately 13,000 injured.

Huge areas of agricultural land have been affected, with crops swept away and three quarters of a million livestock killed, which will mean many people going hungry in the longer term. There is also a high risk from water-borne diseases spreading in affected areas.

The Welsh Government funds the Disasters Emergency Committee Cymru to help coordinate fundraising efforts in Wales and the Pakistan Floods Appeal was launched in September.  The Disasters Emergency Committee brings together leading organisations in the UK to raise funds for overseas emergencies, coordinating an effective humanitarian response, getting aid quickly to people who need it in the most cost effective manner possible.

Mobile teams have been deployed to screen children for malnutrition and provide treatment. Cash grants are helping people buy stoves and a three-month supply of firewood and agencies are supplying winter clothing for families to stay warm. This £100K donation from the Welsh Government will support that activity.