Pakistan Emergency Flood Relief Efforts

Hi. My name is Ariana Akram. Many of you know my father, Ambassador Munir Akram, who is the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations. What many of you may not know is that he is from the Sind providence in Pakistan which has recently been decimated by the monsoon floods.

The unprecedented floods in Pakistan have killed over 1,000 people, injured thousands more, destroyed over 220,000 houses, three thousand miles of roads and hundreds of bridges, wiped out the cotton and other crops, and rendered 33 million people homeless and destitute.

The floods are the clear consequence of global warming and climate change. Pakistan's carbon emissions are among the smallest in the world (0.5% of world emissions) but it is the 5th most vulnerable country to the impacts of climate change. Average temperatures in Pakistan have risen by 3 degrees centigrade over the last 50 years. This year was the hottest in recorded history, melting the Himalayan glaciers and precipitating the torrential rainfall, three times the historical average.

This tragedy is personal to me and my family. The entire village at my family's farm in Sind has been swept away, the cotton crop destroyed, and 50 families rendered homeless and destitute.

Pakistanis are the victims of a global phenomenon for which they are not responsible. The people of Pakistan are resilient and are facing the catastrophe with courage and fortitude, but they need and deserve international support for immediate relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction.

I have therefore decided to help in these efforts by creating this Go Fund Me page for all of you who wish to help me help the victims of this terrible tragedy. I welcome any level of contribution you are able to make as every dollar is desperately needed to address the immediate needs of the victims. 

All contributions will be directly transferred to the “Prime Minister's Flood Relief Fund 2022”. This is the account the government has set up to accept donations from individuals both foreign and domestic.  The monies contributed to the Prime Minister’s Flood Relief will be deployed to provide urgently needed and life-saving food, safe drinking water, and shelter to the hundreds of thousand of victims of this environmental disaster.  

As Ambassador of Pakistan to the United Nations, my father is working with the UN Secretary General and world leaders on global relief efforts. As individuals, you and I, and our friends and family can do our part to address this human tragedy by donating our time and money to the flood relief efforts.

Thank you so much for your concern, empathy and generosity. It is so very needed and appreciated!