Ross-shire diplomat describes "heart-breaking" situation in monsoon hit Pakistan
An area bigger than the whole of the UK has been flooded, killing over 1,100 people and affecting a further 33 million people.
A Scot has returned to the UK after helping spearhead Westminster’s support to Pakistan following devastating floods.
Dingwall-born Annabel Gerry is the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s Development Director for monsoon-hit Pakistan.
An area bigger than the whole of the UK has been flooded, killing over 1,100 people and affecting a further 33 million people.
The UK Government has so far offered £16.5million of life-saving humanitarian support to help provide shelter and essential supplies to people across Pakistan, including £15million announced on Thursday.
Annabel, 54, was helping to lead the UK’s response from the British Embassy in Islamabad.
She said: "The UN’s General Secretary Antonio Guterres wasn’t wrong when he referred to this catastrophe as a ‘monsoon on steroids’ – it is utterly heart-breaking.
“The UK is proud to stand with Pakistan as a major humanitarian donor and we are working round the clock to get life-saving aid to the most vulnerable.
“Tens of millions of people are affected with many left homeless and we face a race against time to save lives because of the high risk of water-borne diseases spreading amongst displaced communities.
“The £15million aid package announced by the UK will offer a lifeline by providing food, clean water and shelter. It will also support families to repair their homes and maintain their livelihoods."
The £15million funding comes after the UK pledged an initial £1.5million last month to help tackle the devastation of the floods.
It also comes on top of £55million the UK Government had already pledged at last year’s COP26 summit in Glasgow to partner with Pakistan to fight climate change.
The Disasters Emergency Committee, a group of leading UK charities, launched its Pakistan Floods Appeal on Thursday – with the UK Government doubling British public’s donations up to £5million as part of its £15million overall aid package.
This year's record monsoon is comparable to the devastating floods of 2010 - the deadliest in Pakistan's history - which left more than 2,000 people dead.
Estimates suggest the floods have caused at least $10bn (£8.5bn) of damage and people now face serious food shortages after floods swept away huge swathes of agricultural land. Pakistan was already suffering from an economic crisis.
Inspired to help world's poorest from a young age
Annabel, from Munlochy, leads the FCDO’s international development team working for the FCDO in Islamabad.
The married mum-of-three was first inspired to help the world’s poorest on trips to see her gran in Kenya.
She explained: “My dad was born and brought up in Kenya and I remember visiting my granny there when I was a little girl and noticing the poverty.
“I remember going to a local market and seeing other girls my own age helping their mums to sell vegetables and noticing they had no shoes on, did not have nice clothes, and never went to school. They’d maybe walked miles to be there, whereas we’d drive home in gran’s car.
“Even as an eight-year-old, I just felt this was not right, and I wanted to do something about it."