US approves funding for flood relief in Pakistan: First on ABC
The State Department has approved funding to address the fallout from deadly flooding in Pakistan, marking the first assistance of its kind to be authorized under the second Trump administration.
"The United States stands with the people of Pakistan, whose lives have been uprooted by widespread, catastrophic flooding. On September 5, the U.S. Department of State approved a monetary response to deliver food, shelter, and other forms of lifesaving disaster relief to impacted communities," a press release first seen by ABC News said.
"We are poised to coordinate with the Government of Pakistan and trusted relief organizations on the ground to deliver aid to the most affected areas," a State Department spokesperson said.
The State Department has not revealed how much money it has devoted to flood recovery efforts.
The U.S. military's Central Command also delivered an initial shipment of "urgent, life-saving assistance to Pakistan" in the immediate aftermath of the floods, according to a previously issued release.
The Trump administration has previously come under fire for making dramatic cuts to foreign assistance, including shuttering USAID—the agency that would normally be charged with coordinating the U.S. response to a natural disaster in a foreign country.
Jeremy Lewin, a senior official performing the duties of Under Secretary for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs, and Religious Freedom at the department, touted the assistance for Pakistan as a success story for the Trump administration's approach.
"Our rapid support for the United States' close ally Pakistan offers yet another example of the efficiency and effectiveness of the State Department's new integrated America First foreign assistance capabilities," Lewin told ABC News.
"Within 72 hours, the Department was able to deploy U.S. government disaster response personnel, program new assistance to assist more than 300,000 affected people, and coordinate military deliveries of critical aid supplies," he added.
Pakistan has experienced a series of deadly floods through the summer monsoon season, but a fresh deluge of heavy rain in early September intensified the humanitarian crisis.
According to Pakistan officials, more than 1.3 million have been displaced by the devastating floods and hundreds have been killed.
"As Americans, we understand this devastation and will be contributing lifesaving disaster relief that will deliver food and shelter to impacted communities across Pakistan," said Bethany Poulos Morrison, the State Department's senior official for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.
