World Bank, IMF step up aid to Pakistan

The World Bank on Thursday raised flood aid to Pakistan to one billion dollars while the IMF approved 450 million dollars in emergency financing to help the nation cope with its worst-ever humanitarian disaster. The World Bank would raise its flood-related support in the current fiscal year to one billion dollars from 900 million dollars, the bank's president Robert Zoellick told Pakistan Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh, a statement said. IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn announced separately that the fund will provide around 450 million dollars in immediate emergency financing to Pakistan to help it manage the aftermath of the massive and devastating floods. The unprecedented floods have engulfed an area the size of England, affecting more than 18 million people, including eight million who are dependent on aid handouts to survive.