ISLAMABAD    -   US Ambassador Don­ald Blome yesterday an­nounced an additional $ 30 million in humanitar­ian assistance to support flood-affected populations in Pakistan.

This new funding brings the United States total assis­tance to Pakistan for flood response, food security, and disaster preparedness and capacity building efforts to $ 97 million this year. Ambassador Blome made the announcement during a visit with USAID’s imple­menting partner, ACTED in the Shikarpur District of Sindh, where he helped to distribute emergency shel­ter, latrine, and hygiene kits to flood-affected people. Ambassador Blome also traveled to Makhno Village where USG emergency shel­ter kits are being used as temporary housing by the flood-affected community. While there, he spoke with flood victims to learn about impact of the flooding and understand their needs 

The new funding will expand efforts to address immediate needs, scaling up assistance to the most affected communities and enabling USAID to reach more than 4m people. With the additional funding, the US govt, through USAID, will provide life-saving food, nutrition, and health assistance to mitigate in­creased food insecurity and malnutrition result­ing from the impact of the floods, as well as curb the rise of diseases resulting from stagnant flood waters. The new funding will also provide shelter supplies to help families rebuild as well as winterization kits to help families prepare as cold weather approaches.

And because women and girls are disproportion­ately impacted by natural disasters, like flooding, the United States is providing increased protection sup­port to prevent gender-based violence as well as provide support for survi­vors. Finally, logistics sup­port to partners will help accelerate the delivery of relief assistance to those in need. The United States is deeply saddened by the devastating loss of life and livelihoods throughout Pakistan. We stand with the people of Pakistan dur­ing this difficult time.