On 9 January 2023, the UN held a conference in Geneva that was co-hosted by Pakistan's Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif and United Nations Chief Secretary General, Antonio Guterres. In that, they confirmed that international donors pledged $9 billion to Pakistan to help the country recover from the disastrous floods that saw the death of thousands and displacement of millions last year.
The purpose of the meeting was to gather international support to rehabilitate those affected by super floods and reconstruct damaged infrastructure in a climate-resilient manner. "Countries on the frontlines of the climate crisis need massive support," said UN chief, Antonio Guterres. He highlighted the effects that such Disasters have on middle income countries.
Contributions have been made by the European Union, the US, China and France. Though, the biggest donations have been made by the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and Saudi Arabia.
The amount pledged is one billion more than requested and is more than half of the estimated amount required ($16 billion) for the country's recovery from the disaster. This not only exceeded the external financing goals but also demonstrated a new way of raising funds to fight climate change.
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