The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced $16.4 million in additional development and humanitarian assistance to Sindh’s flood affectees.

As per a statement released on Tuesday by USAID, the US federal government agency responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance, said the funding “will reach over 20 million flood-affected individuals to assist in their recovery, risk reduction, and resilience”.

Flood-hit Pakistanis still waiting on promised rebuild

The statement said the assistance will address worsening food insecurity and malnutrition and help curb the spread of disease.

It will also support the organisation’s humanitarian partners to provide nutritious food to mothers and their children, help families rebuild local infrastructure to protect them from future disasters, and increase protection services to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors.

The US has provided more than $200 million in humanitarian and development assistance since 2022’s floods, the USAID said.

The floods of last year summer submerged a third of the country, killing 1,700 people and displacing another eight million. They devastated the country’s crucial agriculture sector, leading to severe supply chain disruptions and causing massive food inflation.

The country’s annual inflation rose to 37.97% year-on-year in May, the statistics bureau has recently reported, with the finance ministry attributed the potential reasons for the rising price levels to flood damages, along with disruptions in supply chains, devaluation brought by the macroeconomic imbalances and political uncertainty.

Flood devastation: World Bank approves $213mn for Balochistan

Last month, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved $213 million in financing for Balochistan aimed at improving livelihoods and essential services and enhancing risk protection in communities affected by the 2022 floods.