The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced an additional $16.4 million in development and humanitarian aid for flood victims in Sindh.
The cash “will reach over 20 million flood-affected individuals to assist in their recovery, risk reduction, and resilience,” according to a statement released on Tuesday by USAID, the US federal government department responsible for delivering civilian foreign aid and development assistance.
According to the statement, the support would address rising food insecurity and malnutrition as well as aid in disease control.
It will also assist the organization’s humanitarian partners in providing nutritious meals to mothers and children, assisting families in rebuilding local infrastructure to safeguard them from future catastrophes, and expanding protection services to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors.
According to USAID, the US has donated more than $200 million in humanitarian and development assistance since the floods of 2022.
Last summer’s floods inundated a third of the country, killing 1,700 people and displacing another eight million. They wreaked havoc on the country’s vital agriculture sector, causing serious supply chain disruptions and huge food inflation.
The country’s annual inflation rate increased to 37.97% year on year in May, according to the statistics bureau, with the finance ministry citing flood damage, disruptions in supply chains, devaluation caused by macroeconomic imbalances, and political uncertainty as potential reasons for the rising price levels.
The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved $213 million in financing for Balochistan last month, with the goal of strengthening livelihoods and basic services as well as risk mitigation in communities vulnerable by the 2022 floods.
