The Embassy of Pakistan Brussels arranged a briefing for the Belgian and International humanitarian relief organizations and INGOs at the chancery today. The purpose of the briefing was to appraise the International humanitarian relief Organizations about the situation resulting from floods across the country and to coordinate the provision of relief assistance from Belgium for the flood-affected population, says a press release received here today from Brussels. The Briefing was attended by the representatives from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, EU External Action Service, Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, EU-CORD, MSF, Norwegian Refugees Council, Red Cross Flanders, Handicap International, ADRA, ACT Alliance, VOICE as well as the media persons. The Ambassador of Pakistan to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union Dr. Asad Majeed Khan briefed the participants about the unprecedented devastation caused by the climate-induced disaster in Pakistan which has badly affected over 33 million people. The Ambassador indicated that more than 1569 people including 555 children had lost their lives and 12,860 people got injured including 4000 children, due to the floods. Further elaborating on the situation, Ambassador Khan explained that losses caused by the recent floods are much more than the 2010 floods. He highlighted that as per the initial assessments almost 12716 km of roads, 374 bridges and over 2 million houses have been destroyed and 998,407 livestock have been lost due to the heavy rains in 116 affected districts, including 84 districts officially notified as ‘calamity hit’ across Pakistan. He added that the calamity will have a long-term adverse impact on food security, health, as well as the economy in Pakistan. The Ambassador underscored that under the direct supervision of the Federal Government a massive relief operation is underway across the country. Ambassador Khan mentioned that given the scale of the challenge, the Government is reaching out to friendly countries, donors, and international financial institutions for their support and cooperation. He appealed to the international community to join hands with the Government to save lives and provide much-needed supplies. Speaking on the occasion, the participants assured the Ambassador of their support and agreed to further mobilize their respective organizations/communities to raise resources for the flood-affected people.
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