Meta donates Rs125 million to Pakistan for flood victims
A donation will support emergency aid, food, water, and sanitation in flood-hit areas. source: islamabadpost.com.pk

Tech giant Meta has announced a donation of Rs 125 million to the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Hands, and Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi to help communities affected by the cataclysmic floods in Pakistan. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and other social media platforms, stated on Wednesday, saying the donation would support emergency relief, food, water, sanitation, and help children return to school in Sindh, Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan.

Millions of people are affected:

“Pakistan is going through one of the worst natural disasters ever. Millions of people are affected, and the entire nation is rallying to support them in this difficult time. We hope our contributions will help the communities affected by the disaster, and our thoughts are with these communities and families as they try to recover,” Jordi Fornies, director of emerging markets, APAC at Meta.

Safety Check Feature:

The company said it activated Facebook’s Safety Check feature when floods hit Pakistan this July, allowing people to let friends and family know they were safe. Meanwhile, a crisis page was also created where people could use the Community Help feature, which allowed people to request and offer help from different communities. In addition, Meta’s “Data for Good” has activated its Disaster Maps program and provides data to regional response partners. One of these partners, Crisis Ready (a collaboration between Direct Relief and Harvard University), focused on combining data sources into daily situational reports by thousands of local first responders.

President and CEO of UNICEF:

“The torrential monsoon rains in recent weeks have damaged or completely washed away people’s homes and critically affected millions of people, including children. However, winter is just weeks away in some parts of the country, and we need urgent help to continue Pakistan’s relief efforts and support children and their families. We express our gratitude to Meta for all the support,” said Michael J Nyenhuis, President, and CEO of UNICEF USA.

Communities across various Meta-owned platforms have raised more than a million dollars for non-profit organizations supporting flood relief efforts. Leading NGOs around the world have also raised significant amounts through Facebook and Instagram.

CEO Baela Raza Jamil:

“We will heal schools, provide 2nd Chance Accelerated Learning programs with life skills (psychosocial support, climate change, and digital literacy) and ensure hygiene and health with dignity packages. It is a comprehensive and inclusive approach to #BuildingBackBetter by reaching households, communities, schools, parents, children and especially adolescent girls and teachers embedded in government systems for effective emergency response and preparedness.” However, Meta is constantly exploring other avenues to facilitate families in devastated regions and support NGOs and other causes in their efforts.

Read More: Facebook changed its company name to Meta in a major rebrand.

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