ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday secured international backing to bolster its resilience against climate disasters, with Japan committing $9.91 million in aid for health care in flood-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad signing a climate cooperation agreement with China.
According to the Global Climate Risk Index, Pakistan is the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change, facing annual extreme weather events like floods, droughts and heatwaves that devastate agriculture, infrastructure and livelihoods.
In 2022, record monsoon rains caused catastrophic floods, killing over 1,700 people, inflicting $30 billion in economic losses and affecting 30 million citizens.
The country’s economic affairs secretary, Kazim Niaz, signed a grant to improve maternal and child health services in the flood-affected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Japanese Charge d’Affaires Takano Shuichi in the federal capital.
Pakistan’s Federal Secretary of Economic Affairs, Dr. Kazim Niaz, and Acting Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan, Takano Shuichi, sign a grant-in-aid project to improve maternal and child health services in the flood-affected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in Islamabad on December 17, 2024. (PID)
“The Government of Japan has approved grant amounting to $9.91 million for the said Grant-in-Aid project through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA),” a statement released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. “The project aims to strengthen the diagnostic and treatment systems in the flood affected areas of the Province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”
The grant will provide essential medical equipment for maternal and child health care, particularly benefiting high-risk pregnant women and newborns in the province.
Separately, Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal signed a climate cooperation agreement with China during his visit to Kunming to attend the 3rd China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Blue Economy Cooperation.
During a meeting with the director of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), Luo Zhaohui, Iqbal discussed Pakistan’s ongoing climate challenges, including its Climate Information and Early Warning System Project.
The initiative, launched in 2023, aims to install early warning systems and improve community resilience, particularly in northern regions vulnerable to Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs).
“CIDCA is committed to supporting Pakistan’s post-flood reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts, solidifying the enduring partnership between the two nations,” Luo said, as quoted by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency.
