Canada has announced an additional $25 million of funding in humanitarian assistance to support people and communities affected by severe flooding in Pakistan, an official statement said.
The statement said the new allocation was in addition to the $5m announced last month for humanitarian assistance to support Pakistan. Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said that his country will continue to provide food, clean water and other essential services through trusted partners.
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the Government of Canada will match donations to the Humanitarian Coalition in response to the flooding in Pakistan. Every donation made by individuals to the Humanitarian Coalition and its members until September 28, 2022, will be matched, up to a maximum of $3m,” the statement said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also announced that Canada will also support development projects in the country.
The funds, raised through the Canadians, will help the Humanitarian Coalition and its members deliver life-saving services, such as emergency food and nutrition assistance and emergency cash and vouchers, as well as necessary water, sanitation, and health services.
The statement said Pakistan had experienced the worst flooding in recent history, and Canada will continue “to help the people of Pakistan by supporting the humanitarian response to the crisis and longer-term development needs”.
Minister for International Development and Pacific Economic Development Agency Harjit Sajjan, during his visit to Pakistan, said “Canadians believe in helping others in times of crisis”.
“This is why the Government of Canada is joining with Canadians in supporting Canada’s partners on the ground in Pakistan that are providing urgent, life-saving assistance in response to this devastating flood.”
Sajjan said his country couldn’t forget flood-hit people, especially women, who had been disproportionately affected. “We continue to look at other ways we can continue to assist those impacted by this tragedy.”
He also announced a $20m contribution to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, via the World Health Organisation and UNICEF, to support polio eradication efforts in Pakistan.
This contribution is part of Canada’s ongoing $190m commitment to the GPEI, the statement added.
Meanwhile, Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc announced on Wednesday that it was donating Rs125 million for flood relief efforts in Pakistan.
The amount, which will be given to Unicef, HANDS and Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi, will “support emergency aid, food, water, sanitation and help children get back to school” in Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, the company said in a press release.
Meta’s Director for Emerging Markets for the Asia Pacific region Jordi Fornies said, “Pakistan is going through one of the worst natural disasters we have seen to date. Millions of people are affected and the entire nation is rallying to support them during this difficult time.
“We hope that our contributions help the communities impacted by the catastrophe and our thoughts are with these communities and families as they try to recover.”
The press release stated that prior to the flooding, the safety check feature was activated on Facebook while a crisis page was set up so people could ask for and offer help using the ‘community help feature’.
It further stated that the company’s ‘Data for Good’ platform has activated its disaster maps programme and is providing information to regional response partners.
“Communities across various Meta-owned platforms have raised more than a million dollars for non-profits supporting flood relief efforts.
