Attachments
HIGHLIGHTS
Ambassador Paul W. Jones, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., declares a disaster due to drought in Balochistan and Sindh
USAID/OFDA provides $5.4 million in FY 2019 to date to support humanitarian response activities
NUMBERS AT A GLANCE
5 million Estimated Population Affected by Drought in Balochistan and Sindh GoP – March 2019
1.4 million Registered Afghan Refugees in Pakistan UN – April 30, 2019
1,834 Voluntary Returns of Registered Afghan Nationals from Pakistan in 2019 UNHCR – June 21, 2019
10,309 Undocumented Afghan Returnees from Pakistan in 2019 UN – June 15, 2019
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
On February 15, 2019, Ambassador Paul W. Jones, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., declared a disaster due to drought in Balochistan and Sindh provinces. The Government of Pakistan (GoP) estimated that drought had affected approximately 5 million people in 26 of Pakistan’s 133 districts as of early March.
In response to drought-induced needs, USAID is supporting relief actors to provide emergency food assistance, address water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) gaps, and support livelihoods programming to assist affected communities in Balochistan and Sindh and build resilience to future shocks.
In early March, following drought conditions that impacted the soil’s absorptive capacity, heavy precipitation resulted in flash flooding in Balochistan. The flooding displaced 8,000 to 10,000 people and led the provincial government to declare a state of emergency in Qilla Abdullah District, according to the GoP’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The Pakistan Army supported local search-and-rescue operations in affected areas and establish displacement camps in Lasbela and Makran districts. Pakistan Army relief staff also provided medical treatment and food rations to 3,500 households.