UN LAUNCHES $459M PAKISTAN FLOOD APPEAL
Baku, August 11 (AZERTAC). The UN has launched an appeal for $459m (£290m) to help victims of Pakistan`s flood disaster, which has affected at least 14 million people, according to BBC.
UN humanitarian chief John Holmes made the announcement at the organisation`s headquarters in New York, saying the aid would cover the next 90 days.
The disaster was "one of the most challenging that any country has faced in recent years", Mr Holmes said.
So far, about 1,600 people have been killed by the monsoon floods.
Mr Holmes said the funds would be used for food, clean water, shelter and medical supplies.
The "emergency response plan" would be revised after 30 days as more information came in, he added.
Weather officials say the monsoon system over the Arabian Sea is weakening and there should be a break in the torrential rains for at least the next three days, though scattered rains are forecast.
The UK responded to the UN appeal by announcing it would supply aid to some 1.5 million people in Pakistan.
Four further plane loads of relief supplies will be sent, said the Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell.
It has been described as one of the biggest appeals in the UN`s history in terms of the number of people who are in need, the BBC`s Lyse Doucet reports from the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
With the monsoon season set to go on until the end of August and the mighty Indus river, swollen with floodwaters, moving steadily south, we still do not know how many Pakistanis will be affected in the end, our correspondent says.
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