In 2023, the EU has already allocated €18.5 million in humanitarian support, which adds to the total funding to Pakistan since 2016, amounting to over €138 million. This funding aims to assist people recovering from the 2022 floods, as well as to support refugees, their host communities, and disaster preparedness actions.
EU humanitarian aid in Pakistan supports:
- people affected by natural hazards
- Afghan refugees and host communities
- those affected by conflict, including Pakistani internally displaced and returnees.
More than 50% of Afghan refugees in Pakistan are considered extremely poor, according to official data. EU-funded humanitarian projects assist them with healthcare services, nutrition, education, water and sanitation facilities, and legal protection services.
Displaced Pakistanis, both in their areas of refuge and in the destroyed areas to which they have returned, receive support for education, and access to water and sanitation.
The EU also supports programmes to enhance the disaster preparedness capabilities of communities in areas prone to both natural hazards and human-induced disasters. Current initiatives focus on strengthening national and provincial systems to prepare for and respond to, recurrent droughts, floods and other disasters.
Latest floods
Major floods and landslides wreaked havoc across Pakistan’s 4 provinces, affecting nearly 900,000 people earlier this year. In response, the EU allocated €1 million to help its partners on the ground to scale up their relief efforts.
This affected a population still recovering from the unprecedented 2022 summer floods. These floods caused over 1,700 deaths and affected over 33 million people in the country.
In response, the EU mobilised €30 million channelled into humanitarian programmes between the initial allocation and the budget reinforcement for the flood response. We also coordinated the incoming assistance from EU Member States channelled through its Civil Protection Mechanism.
The EU has operated in Pakistan since the 1990s providing humanitarian assistance including to people affected by the 2005 earthquake and the devastating 2010-2011 floods.
Last updated: 21/11/2023
