Pakistan PM thanks Biden for UN speech urging world for flood aid

Pakistan’s prime minister has thanked US President Joe Biden for his appeal to the international community to help the flood-ravaged South Asian nation.

In his speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, Biden said “much of Pakistan is under water … and needs help”.

“We don’t have much time left. We all know we are already living in a climate crisis,” the US leader said as he announced a $2.9bn fund for humanitarian and food security in the world for this year.

“Families are facing impossible choices, choosing which child to feed, and wondering whether they will survive. This is the human cost of climate change. And it’s growing, not lessening,” Biden said.

Pakistan is facing one of its worst humanitarian crises after record rains and melting glaciers caused catastrophic floods there, affecting 33 million of its 220 million population.

The deluge has killed nearly 1,600 people so far, including more than 300 who died of water-borne diseases caused by stagnant water. The UN has warned of a health disaster looming in the worst-affected areas.

Agencies