UK aid support to victims of devastating floods in South Asia

1 Sep 2017 02:59 PM

The UK has stepped up its support for communities worst affected by flooding in Nepal, and continues to provide assistance in Bangladesh.

The International Development Secretary recently announced that the Department for International Development (DFID) will allocate further support to the flood response in Nepal, including by providing clean water, sanitation and hygiene services, as well as support immediate food security needs and health support.

Monsoon flooding and landslides have affected an estimated 8mn and 1.7mn people in Bangladesh and Nepal respectively.

DFID is allocating £400,000 to the Nepal Red Cross Society in partnership with the British Red Cross and International Federation of the Red Cross for monsoon flood response. 75% of this support is earmarked for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), livelihood recovery, and health. This support will:

• Provide safe water supply to over 13,000 people
• Ensure over 3,000 of those most severely affected receive immediate food and financial support
• Reach over 2,000 women and girl’s with health supplies

The International Development Secretary, Priti Patel, recently said:

The devastating flooding in South Asia is truly heart-breaking. Entire communities have lost their homes, their livelihoods and their loved ones.

The UK has stepped up to support the region, our pre-positioned relief supplies ensured thousands of people received immediate support and we continue to provide assistance to vulnerable people who have lost everything.

Today’s announcement will provide clean water and prevent the spread of deadly and crippling diseases, as we continue to work to meet the immediate needs of people on the ground.

This announcement is the latest support the UK has provided to Bangladesh and Nepal. This includes:

• In Bangladesh, the UK’s START fund has already allocated £660,000 for NGOs working to provide food, financial assistance, water and sanitation quickly to 62,000 people in the worst affected areas. The UK is also funding work to assess needs and humanitarian staffing to lead effective coordination of responses.
• In Nepal, the Humanitarian Staging Area at the capital’s airport in Kathmandu was built with funding from UK aid and provides one of the main relief coordination centres for the government. UK preparedness support, through Oxfam, is providing immediate relief supplies to 30,000 people for emergency shelter and WASH. DFID is also supporting overall coordination.
• The UK will continue to monitor the situation in both countries, and work with their governments to support immediate needs and to help people and communities affected to recover once flooding has receded.
• Flooding has also affected India, where the UK continues to monitor the situation, and our thoughts are with those that have been affected. The Indian Government is leading the response in providing humanitarian assistance to those that require it.

Notes for Editors:

• The Governments of Bangladesh and Nepal are leading the response to monsoon flooding that has affected an estimated 8mn and 1.7m people in the two countries.
• Floods occur annually during Bangladesh’s monsoon season and the Government of Bangladesh has well established response mechanisms in place.
• The Start Fund is a global multi-donor humanitarian response fund managed by consortia of NGOs that provides rapid funding within 72 hours of an emergency unfolding. The fund has specific resources earmarked to respond to emergencies in Bangladesh.
• The UK supports the Humanitarian Affairs Adviser in the UN Resident Coordinator’s (RC) office, which leads coordination of the flood response.
• DFID Bangladesh is also providing £3m to help communities to recover from the impact of floods earlier in the year
• The Government of Nepal formally requested international assistance on Friday, 18 August and the UK Government is providing assistance and helping to co-ordinate the flooding response using support from our existing country budget.
• The UK is supporting the in-country coordination mechanisms in Nepal, including through support to the UN Resident Coordinators Office and the logistics cluster.

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