ISLAMABAD: The Eu­­ropean Union announced on Thursday it is providing €700,000 in humanitarian aid to Pakistan after widespread flooding and landslides caused loss of lives and significant damage to people’s livelihood and key infrastructures in the country.

The aid will help addr­ess the urgent needs of the most vulnerable communities in some of the hardest-hit areas, particularly Bal­ochistan, Khy­­ber-Paktun­khwa, Pun­­­jab, and Sindh, a press release of EU said.

“The EU expresses hea­rtfelt condolences to Pak­istan for the lives lost in the exceptionally heavy monsoon rains, which have once again put the resilience of communities across the country to the test,” said Taheeni Tham­manna­go­­da, who oversees the EU’s humanitarian programmes in Pakistan.

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“The EU has made ava­ilable funding to help our humanitarian partners on the ground respond and deliver essential lifesaving aid to affected families.”

The funding will be cha­­nneled through the Int­­ernational Organisa­tion for Migration (IOM) and the International Fed­eration of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The emergency response will prioritise multi-sectoral assistance to help the most affected people meet their needs, such as water and sanitation, temporary shelter and essential relief items.

This comes on top of 11 million euros allocated by EU humanitarian aid in 2024 for humanitarian support and disaster preparedness in Pakistan.

In the meantime, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre said that it has implemented 210 projects in Pakistan worth over $184 million, improving the lives of vulnerable communities.

Releasing its progress report, KSrelief said efforts include emergency relief for natural disasters, and long-term projects addressing food security, healthcare, education, and shelter.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2024