Update: U.S. Response to Pakistan's Flood Disaster

The United States has responded immediately and generously to Pakistan's call for assistance following the tragic and devastating floods that began July 29. Our response has been consistent with our humanitarian values and our deep commitment to Pakistan. Support to Pakistan includes financial assistance to NGO and UN relief agencies and provision of urgently needed supplies and services, drawing on America’s global capabilities and assets.

The United States Government is providing approximately $463 million to assist with relief and recovery efforts. The United States also has provided civilian and military in-kind assistance in the form of halal meals, infrastructure support, and air support to and within Pakistan to transport goods and rescue people at an approximate value of $81 million. There are currently 26 U.S. military helicopters in Pakistan supporting relief efforts with more offshore on the USS Peleliu. To date, U.S. aircraft have evacuated more than 26,000 people and delivered approximately 20 million pounds of relief supplies. Hundreds of U.S. military and civilian personnel are working around the clock in Islamabad, in flood affected areas, and at Pakistani military bases in support of flood relief operations.

American business and private citizens are also making generous contributions to assist the people of Pakistan.

Latest Developments

• This week the United States provided approximately $8 million to an implementing partner for relief and early recovery activities, which will benefit 78,000 people in Sindh and Balochistan provinces. In areas with standing water, the grantee will distribute water purification tablets, soap, and water containers, increasing access to safe drinking water and improving household hygiene practices. Where water has receded, the grantee will provide returnee families with vouchers that can be exchanged for wheat and vegetable seed to cultivate one acre of land. The grantee will also help families rebuild damaged homes by providing transitional shelter materials and technical assistance through locally-hired carpenters.
• In response to continued emergency needs in areas impacted by standing water, the U.S. provided an additional $4 million this week to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) activities benefiting 150,000 people in southern Sindh and Balochistan. Through the program, UNICEF will rehabilitate water systems, train government counterparts to operate and maintain water schemes, test and treat water systems for contamination, and distribute hygiene kits to returning families.
• Last week, the United States committed an additional $5.3 million in humanitarian assistance to a Pakistani-based organization to address the emergency and early recovery needs of 300,000 people in Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan, and KPk provinces. The grantee will distribute water containers and seeds, construct latrines, repair infrastructure, and provide health care, temporary employment, and materials to winterize shelter and repair damaged homes.
• On October 20, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) commenced distribution of wheat and vegetable seeds in KPk as part of a U.S. funded agriculture program to help flood-affected farming families recover for the winter planting season. As of October 24, FAO had distributed wheat and vegetable planting packages to 7,750 households in Peshawar, Nowshera, and Charsadda districts.
• As part of a recent USAID/OFDA grant, a Pakistan-based organization will construct 500 winterized shelters in Gilgit-Baltistan Province. Each temporary living space—complete with cooking area—will be constructed by local crews and will provide shelter for up to 10 families. Because the area is on an active fault line, shelters have been designed to resist seismic hazards.

Selected U.S. Contributions To Date

• In total, the United States has provided 13 mobile water treatment units that each produce enough clean water for 20,000 people a day; twelve 12,000-liter water bladders for the storage of clean water; 208,750 10-liter water containers; 15 million water purification tablets (sufficient to chlorinate 150 million liters of water); 58 Zodiac inflatable rescue boats; 96 concrete saws and saw blades; 237,005 blankets; and 12,113 rolls of plastic sheeting for the construction of temporary shelters. These relief supplies brought in from USAID warehouses in Dubai, Italy, and the United States are in addition to the supplies purchased locally by partners that are providing assistance to those in need.
• In September, the World Food Program (WFP) and partners reached approximately 6.3 million people with over 81,000 metric tons of food. Between October 1 and 26, WFP distributed nearly 64,400 metric tons (MT) of emergency food assistance in 49 flood-affected districts throughout Pakistan, reaching nearly 5.1 million people. To date, the United States has provided more than $137 million to WFP and NGO partners for emergency food assistance, including funding for local food procurement to support early recovery.
• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which the United States is supporting through the State Department, has assisted 1.2 million flood-affected people with shelter and non-food items across Pakistan.

Private Sector Response

• To date, the private sector has donated approximately $24.8 million in contributions to flood relief efforts. Private sector entities that have contributed include: 3M, Abbott, Agility Logistics, Al-Bario Engineering, Alcatel-Lucent Foundation, Amgen, Ammado, AT&T, Bank of America, BASF, Bayer, Becton Dickinson, BHP Billiton Petroleum, BMO Financial Group, BMW Group, Boeing, BP, Bridgestone, Cargill, Caterpillar, Chevron, China State Construction Engineering Corporation, Cisco, Citi, Coca-Cola, Cummins, Inc, Daewoo, Daimler, Dell, DHL, The Dow Chemical Co., DTAC Thailand, DuPont, DynCorp International, EMC, Environment Consultancies & Options, Equate Petrochemical, Expedia, Inc., ExxonMobil, Fed Ex, Feros Sons Laboratories, GE, General Mills, GlaxoSmithKline, Google, James Hardie, Hadayat Sons, Harris Financial Corporation, Honda Motor Co., ICI Pakistan, Infineon Technologies, Intel Foundation, ITT Corporation, JCB, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, Kabani & Company, KAPCO, Kestral, KPMG, Kraft Foods, Levi Strauss, LG Electronics, Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP, Lockheed Martin, MDS Foods, Medtronic, Merck, Microsoft, ML Resources LLC, MoneyGram International, Monsanto, Motorola, NetSol Technologies, Inc., Northwest Mutual Foundation, Novo Nordisk, Orascom Telecom, Pakistan Telecommunication Company LTD., PepsiCo, Petrofac, Pfizer, Primatics Financial, Procter & Gamble, QNet, Rogers Communications, Royal Bank of Canada, Royal Dutch Shell, SAS, Henry Schein, Inc., Sheraton, Siemens, Silver Star Enterprises, Staples, Inc., Sud-Chemie, Telenor Group, Tethyan Copper Company, Toshiba Group, Toyota, Tpad, Unilever, UPS, Veolia Water, Verizon, Visa, Western Union, Wackenhut Pakistan, and ZAFCO.
• On October 4, the Pakistani American Diaspora raised over $500,000 through a relief concert in New York. Held at the Standard Hotel, the concert was headlined by Grammy Award winning artist John Legend and attended by Mayor Bloomberg, several celebrities (Gossip Girls, Saturday Night Live, 90210, HBO’s Boardwalk Empire), and key investment/hedge fund professionals.
• The Pakistan Relief Fund has received more than $626,000 in pledges and donations from more than 10,200 donors.
• Through several private fundraisers and events, the Pakistan League of the United States (PLUS) has collected $50,000 for the State Department’s Pakistan Relief Fund. Based in New Jersey, the 450 member group is comprised of Pakistani-American small business owners.
• People in Pakistan are invited to share information and updates by SMS texting the word FLOODS to 7111. People using the country’s active Humari Awaz (“Our Voice”) cell phone network are able to update each other about the latest flood news, valuable NGO grant and business opportunities and to make new announcements of support by SMS texting the word FLOODS to 7111. The Humari Awaz social network was launched by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at Government College Lahore during her visit to Pakistan in October 2009. Since the launch, the network’s subscribers collectively have sent over 350 million messages. To learn how to use Humari Awaz mobile users need only SMS the words "HELP" or "MADAD" to 7111.

Public Donation Information

• The most effective way people can assist relief efforts is by making cash contributions to humanitarian organizations that are conducting relief operations. Cash donations allow aid professionals to procure the exact items needed (often in the affected region); reduce the burden on scarce resources (such as transportation routes, staff time, warehouse space, etc); can be transferred very quickly and without transportation costs; support the economy of the disaster-stricken region; and ensure culturally, dietary, and environmentally appropriate assistance.
• The Government of Pakistan and the Pakistan cellular phone industry are inviting Pakistanis to contribute to the Prime Minister’s Fund for Flood Relief beginning August 5 by texting the amount of their donation to “1234.” A number of NGOs and companies have announced the establishment of trust funds or donations to the Prime Minister’s Fund.
• As Secretary Clinton announced August 18, the U.S. Government, through the Department of State, has established the Pakistan Relief Fund for all to join in the tremendous relief, recovery and reconstruction effort. Individuals, corporations, and other organizations can send much needed help to the people of Pakistan by contributing to this fund at www.state.gov. In the U.S., individuals can send $10 through mobile phones by texting “FLOOD” to 27722.
• Working with mGive, Americans are also contributing to Pakistan flood relief by texting the word “SWAT” to 50555. The text results in a donation of $10 to the UNHCR Pakistan Flood Relief Effort. Every $10 helps provide tents and emergency aid to displaced families.
• A list of humanitarian organizations that are accepting cash donations for flood response efforts in Pakistan can be found at www.interaction.org. Information about organizations responding to the humanitarian situation in Pakistan may be available at www.reliefweb.int.
• More information can be found at:
  • www.state.gov/pakistanflooding
  • USAID: www.usaid.gov/pakistanflooding
  • The Center for International Disaster Information: www.cidi.org or (703) 276-1914

· *The in-kind figure is not included in the calculation of the current USG total. It is an estimate of costs to date. The amount will be adjusted as additional information becomes available.