ISLAMABAD: The Japanese government has announced its plan to provide $38.9 million in grant to Pakistan as part of its supplementary budget to deliver life-saving aid to flood victims.

Japan had earlier provided $7m as an emergency grant to address the immediate impact of the floods in September.

The Japanese government stands ready to support the people of Pakistan to overcome the ongoing humanitarian crisis, as part of the long-standing partnership with Islamabad, the embassy announced on Wednesday.

This is the second grant assistance from Japan in the first week of December as part of the humanitarian assistance in Pakistan. Last week, the Japanese government provided $4.196m to Unicef for its humanitarian services in the flood-affected areas and to improve water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure in refugee settlements and host communities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Funds provided by Japan to Unicef for its humanitarian services in the flood-affected areas are being used to provide safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, raise awareness about personal and communal hygiene, provision of hygiene kits, and scanning the nutritional status of children and women in camps and communities.

The Japanese government will support the affected population in various social and economic dimensions in partnership with WHO, UNFPA, FAO, UNDP, Unicef, WFP, UNWOMEN, UNHCR and IPPF in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Punjab, as well as the Islamabad Capital Territory.

For the total grant assistance of $34.2m, the proposed areas of support include emergency medical assistance, food distribution, agriculture and livestock restoration, livelihood recreation and gender-based violence risk mitigation and response.

In order to ensure the rapid rollout to reach the most vulnerable, these projects will commence in January 2023.

The government will also provide support through Japan International Cooperation Agency, equivalent to $4.7m, for recovery from the floods in health, agriculture, education, gender, and resilient disaster management, thereby contributing to “Build Back Better” in Pakistan, a Japanese embassy press release said.

The unprecedented levels of flooding have triggered a multi-dimensional humanitarian crisis, leaving the affected population with increased health risks and food insecurity and insecure livelihood.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2022