The Secretary General of the UN is this Monday in Geneva, where a high-level International Conference in support of Pakistan is being held. The government of the Asian nation and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) are the co-organizers of the meeting.
The event was organized seeking to mobilize the international community to assist Pakistan, a country that continues to recover from the devastating floods suffered since last June.
In the opening speech, António Guterres praised “the limitless generosity” and the resilience of the Pakistani people in the face of serious threats and convulsions, such as earthquakes and floods or the “years of relentless terrorist attacks.”
The head of the UN calculated that the reconstruction of Pakistan “in a resilient way” will require more than 16,000 million dollars, and indicated that “in the long term it will take much more”.
This amount would include post-flood recovery and rehabilitation work as well as initiatives to address the far-reaching social, environmental and economic challenges facing the country.
At the closing of the conference, delegates announced aid pledges totaling more than $9 billion to address major post-disaster needs and ongoing humanitarian response under Pakistan’s plan for resilient recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
Fix a fundamental bug
He then pointed out the need to repair a grievance that he considered “fundamental”, since the Asian nation “is a double victimized by climate chaos and a morally bankrupt global financial system”.
“That system systematically denies middle-income countries the debt relief and favorable financing conditions necessary to invest in resilience against natural disasters.”
For this reason, he stressed that developing countries need “creative ways to obtain financing on favorable terms and debt reduction when they need it most.”
The role of women in recovery tasks
Guterres also called for support for women and children, whose chances of dying in catastrophes are up to 14 times higher than men, in addition to being the groups most affected during humanitarian crises.
“Women are always on the front line in times of crisis, also in Pakistan. Their efforts are essential for a strong, equal and inclusive recovery, ”she stressed, asking that they be able to play their role as leaders and provide ideas and solutions.
Nearly four million children still live in stagnant, polluted areas
More than four months after the declaration of a state of national emergency in Pakistan, close to four million children continue to live near contaminated and stagnant waters from floods, a situation that endangers their survival and well-being, the Fund warned on Monday. the UN for Children (UNICEF).
UNICEF revealed that acute respiratory infections among children, one of the leading causes of infant mortality worldwide, skyrocketed in flood-affected areas, and that the number of children diagnosed with severe malnutrition almost doubled between July and December in comparison with 2021; an estimated 1.5 million children still need basic life-saving treatment.
The representative of the UN agency in Pakistan, Abdullah Fadi, indicated that, despite the end of the rains, “some ten million girls and boys continue to need immediate help to save their lives and face a harsh winter without a adequate shelter. Severe acute malnutrition, respiratory and waterborne diseases, coupled with cold, endanger the lives of millions of young people.”
