World’s dams to lose a quarter of storage capacity by 2050: UN research
Former Pakistani PM Imran Khan’s ex-wife, Jemima Goldsmith, and her brother Ben Goldsmith have raised over £150,000 for flood victims, splitting the money between the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Pakistan Floods Appeal and the Pakistan Environment Trust.
Last night, the brothers and sisters threw a charity dinner in London’s Mayfair neighbourhood, and more than a hundred prominent Pakistani and Indian figures attended.
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, novelist Fatima Bhutto, British presenters Noreen Khan and Sam Naz, Pakistan’s Overseas Investment Adviser Zeeshan Shah, and the United Kingdom’s former High Commissioner to Pakistan, Adam Thomson, were among the guests at the dinner.
The English TV and film producer and writer Jemima — who is also an advocate for UNICEF — stated at the time, “The Pakistan floods have been on such a horrific magnitude that it’s impossible to grasp, with 33 million people affected and over 7.9 million people displaced.”
Jemima explained that, as a UNICEF ambassador, she was working to raise money to help children and their families who had been touched by the disaster.
She said, “My brother Ben started the Pakistan Environment Trust, which is striving to address climate change in a country that experiences some of the most daunting repercussions of the global environmental crisis.”
These are two worthy projects that require funding more than ever, so Ben and I are happy to help bring attention to them and some much-needed money to the people of Pakistan.
She emphasised that the proceeds from the event would go to the Pakistan Environment Trust and the UNICEF Pakistan Floods Appeal.
Worrying news about Pakistan’s flooding
Earlier this week, Pakistan received flood commitments totaling $10.7 billion, far above the $8 billion goal set by the government as it scrambles to mobilise finances to restore the lives of the country’s 33 million residents and fix the billions of dollars in damage they’ve sustained.
After Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a $8 billion flood aid appeal to help the country overcome the destruction caused by the catastrophic floods, the nation secured the commitments at a one-day International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan in Geneva.
At the end of the first plenary session, the country with a $350 billion economy had obtained promises worth $8.57 billion, and by the end of the second session, it had secured almost $2 billion.
At least 1,700 people were murdered and over $16 billion in damage was inflicted by the devastating floods that have hit Pakistan. The government in Islamabad is covering half of the cost from its own coffers, putting the country in a dire financial strait.