Geneva, Switzerland
DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR COLEMAN: Thank you. Thank you so much to the UN for convening us here today, and thank you Foreign Minister Zardari, and to all of our partners who have joined here today in support of the Pakistani people.
This morning’s sessions have provided a stark reminder of the lasting impacts of the 2022 floods.
When the flooding began, the United States government jumped into action to support the Pakistani people. In early September, we deployed a Disaster Response Team to quickly provide humanitarian assistance, partnering with the U.S. Military to establish an air bridge that delivered nearly 630 metric tons of critical relief supplies to the hardest hit areas. We provided support to flood-affected Afghan refugees and Pakistani host community members. And the American people generously donated tens of millions of dollars for the relief effort.
During relief operations, several senior U.S. officials and members of Congress traveled to flood-affected areas. Administrator Samantha Power and members of our team oversaw the U.S. response from Sindh Province, where they witnessed the floods’ impact on Pakistani communities firsthand.
Administrator Power’s message then and my message today is simply this: The United States stands with the people of Pakistan and remains committed to helping the country recover from this devastating flood.
We know that the needs of flood-affected communities go beyond the one-time provision of emergency assistance. The United States continues to work closely with community leaders, government officials, and the private sector to respond to the 2022 floods and other climate-related natural disasters. Just as we did after the 2005 earthquake and 2010-2011 superfloods, the United States will continue to partner with Pakistan in times of need — and work to boost resilience and strengthen Pakistan’s response and recovery systems in the face of recurrent disasters.
The benefits of our long-standing partnership are clear. In Sindh Province, schools constructed with USAID support after the floods of 2010-2011 were not only able to withstand the effects of the 2022 floods, but also served as shelters in some of the hardest hit areas. The U.S.-constructed Jacobabad Institute of Medical Sciences was able to continue providing desperately needed health services in the aftermath of the most recent floods. And the Tarbela and Gomal Zam Dams, built with U.S. support, were instrumental in alleviating flooding impacts by absorbing initial floodwaters in their catchment areas.
In 2022 alone, the United States provided over $100 million to support immediate flood relief efforts, disaster resilience, and food security needs, as well as financing for relief logistics.
Today, I am pleased to announce that the United States is pledging an additional $100 million dollars of recovery funding, bringing the U.S. government’s total contribution to more than $200 million dollars since the middle of August.
The new funding will help strengthen climate-smart agriculture and food security systems; scale up essential health services in flood affected communities; and expedite a return to learning among marginalized populations, particularly girls.
It will also help our Pakistani partners make critical investments in protection and citizen-responsive governance, disease surveillance, economic growth, clean energy, and reconstruction of damaged infrastructure, including drainage infrastructure, law enforcement facilities, and courthouses.
We appreciate the steps the Pakistani government has been taking in coordination with international partners to identify and prioritize its recovery needs, objectives, and next steps. The U.S. will continue to support our partners on the ground and across the government to build back better toward a more climate-resilient future for the people of Pakistan.
Today, the United States is supporting Pakistan as it strengthens climate resilience, pursues energy transformation, and fosters inclusive economic growth, including through initiatives relating to agriculture, energy, water, and more. We are eager to continue building a U.S.-Pakistan “Green Alliance” to help jointly meet the climate, economic, energy, agriculture, and water challenges of the future.
As we continue to support Pakistan’s recovery from last year’s floods, the U.S. will also continue to work with our Pakistani partners as they undertake further reforms that will strengthen the country’s resilience and stability.
As the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment and “4RF” make clear — Pakistan’s needs remain immense. I look forward to engaging with Pakistani officials and international partners to hear their perspectives throughout the remainder of this conference.
The pledges we’re making here today are another mark of the United States’ longstanding commitment to the Pakistani people, and to communities around the world on the front lines of the climate crisis.
Thank you.