The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced $16.4 million in aid for Pakistan to support victims affected by 2022’s devastating floods.

“Today in Sindh, Pakistan, USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman announced $16.4 million in additional development and humanitarian assistance to support the resilience of communities in Pakistan that experienced 2022’s historically severe floods,” the US agency announced in a statement on Tuesday.

It said the flood impacted an estimated 33 million people and had a devastating impact on infrastructure, crops, livelihoods, and livestock throughout the country.

The new funding will reach over 20 million flood-affected individuals to assist in their recovery, risk reduction, and resilience,” it added.

The assistance will address worsening food insecurity and malnutrition and help curb the spread of disease. In addition, this funding will support humanitarian partners to provide nutritious food to mothers and their children, help families rebuild local infrastructure to protect them from future disasters and increase protection services to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors, according to the statement.

Following severe monsoon rains and resultant floods in Pakistan during mid-2022, USAID deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team to lead the US humanitarian response and rapidly provide aid to affected communities.

This included working with partners to quickly scale up vital humanitarian assistance, including through partnering with the US Department of Defense to successfully complete an air bridge that delivered nearly 630 metric tons of life-saving relief commodities to Pakistan.

“The US is one of the largest donors to Pakistan, providing more than $200 million in humanitarian and development assistance since 2022’s catastrophic floods. The United States continues to stand with the people of Pakistan as they recover from the impacts of the historic floods,” the US agency added.