'This Is Something We Take Very Seriously': US Responds To Alleged Corruption In Flood Relief To Pakistan

The US offered nearly $56.5 million in flood relief and humanitarian assistance to Pakistan this year as well as an additional $10 million in food security assistance, as per the state department

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Hitting back at Pakistan over reports of massive corruption and looting of US relief aid, the US on Tuesday it takes such an issue very seriously, not only in Pakistan but anywhere around the world where American taxpayer dollars are implicated.

"This is something we take very seriously, not only in Pakistan but anywhere around the world where American taxpayer dollars are implicated and when there is an urgent humanitarian interest at stake, which is clearly the case, in terms of the response to the flooding in Pakistan," said US State Department spokesperson Ned Price, according to the news agency ANI report.

How US monitors potential diversions, seizures in affected regions?

The USAID partners have collaborated with local organizations which have extensive knowledge about the affected areas and their populations. "We also are required to provide regular program updates on the progress of activities and any security concerns, and we require them - our partners - to immediately report any potential diversions, seizures, or losses immediately. So this is something we take very seriously," said Price while responding to a question over reports of corruption in Pakistan.

Elaborating on the steps taken to monitor and ensure adequate tracking mechanisms, Price said, "First, USAID staff - they make regular trips to monitor our programs in the field. We have what's called a DART - a Disaster Assistance Response Team - and their members travel to more than 10 flood-affected districts in Balochistan, in Sindh province."

The visits of USAID have been made between September 14 and September 27 to assess not only the humanitarian conditions, but also the response activities and to make sure that those response activities were meeting the humanitarian need.

The US offered nearly $56.5 million in flood relief and humanitarian assistance to Pakistan this year as well as an additional $10 million in food security assistance, as per the state department.

The south Asian nation witnessed massive floods that caused great loss of lives and infrastructure.

So far 1,700 deaths and more than 12,800 people have been injured since mid-June till September 30, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The highest death rates were recorded in Sindh (747), Balochistan (325) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (307).

Floods have affected more than 2 million houses and around 7.9 million people are reportedly displaced, including some 598,000 people living in relief camps, according to reports by the Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMA) of the affected provinces.

Estimates indicate that more than 7,000 schools are currently being used to host displaced populations, while an estimated 25,100 schools have been damaged.