WIREDGOV

Seeds, shelter and training from the UK will help more than 700,000 people in Pakistan recover from last year’s widespread floods, International Development Secretary Justine Greening announced today.

Over a million people in southern Pakistan are still living without adequate shelter, exposed to the elements and vulnerable to disease. The new UK support is providing 50,000 of these families with cash grants to buy building materials and training on how to build houses which will resist future floods, such as waterproofing walls with lime plaster.

Seeds, chickens, and training in farming skills are also being provided to over 690,000 people to improve the availability of food and fodder, and enable families to earn some money.

In addition, the UK is closely monitoring this year’s monsoon in Pakistan and has already put in place emergency items near disaster prone areas, so that help can be mobilised quickly if needed. This includes emergency shelter, solar lamps, and sleeping mats for 15,000 families.

International Development Secretary Justine Greening said:

We have emergency supplies already in place for a fast response to this year’s monsoon.

In addition to providing crop seeds and training in farm skills to get people back on their feet, the UK is helping them build homes that will stand up to future flooding, breaking the vicious cycle of the annual rains.

This new support from the UK comes to £18 million and coincides with World Humanitarian Day earlier this week, on Monday 19 August 2013. The UK is partnering with , ACTED, HANDS, FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation), and Concern to deliver this support.