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PAKISTAN: Thousands of Lives at Risk from Quake Relief Shortfalls

Stefania Bianchi

BRUSSELS, Oct 26 2005 (IPS) - As the United Nations nearly doubled its appeal target for the South Asia earthquake relief Wednesday, development groups warned that rich countries’ failure to respond generously to the crisis could cost thousands of people their lives.

The UN, which is spearheading international relief efforts, increased its appeal for donations for victims of the South Asia earthquake to 550 million dollars, just hours before a key donors’ conference to discuss the situation in Pakistan was due to kick off in Geneva.

To date, the Oct. 8 quake has claimed the lives of at least 79,000 people and left an estimated 3.3 million homeless and countless injured.

Relief efforts have been hampered by massive logistical problems, continued aftershocks and mudslides in Pakistan’s mountainous area, and many communities in the remotest areas remain out of reach.

With temperatures set to drop further as winter sets in over the coming weeks, aid agencies say the need for shelter and medical supplies is increasingly desperate.

Officials on the ground are warning that many more people could die of hunger, cold and injuries than were killed by the earthquake itself.

However, in spite of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the region, development groups say two and a half weeks after the earthquake struck, donors have been slow to respond to fundraising appeals.

Oxfam, a leading Britain-based aid organisation, says less than a third – 90 million dollars – of the UN’s original target of 312 million dollars has been pledged.

By comparison, the UN flash appeal after last December’s Asian tsunami was more than 80 percent funded within 10 days of the disaster.

Oxfam accuses rich countries of “failing to respond generously” to the earthquake appeal and singles out seven countries – Belgium, France, Austria, Finland, Greece, Portugal and Spain – who it said had so far given nothing to the UN appeal.

Oxfam says although some of these countries might have given resources outside the UN’s fund it was vital to ensure that the organisation’s appeal was also met.

The group says only four countries – Sweden, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Denmark – have given more than their “fair share” to the earthquake appeal, and that the United States, Japan, Germany and Italy have given less than their share as large economies.

To date, Britain has pledged 17.4 million dollars, the United States 10.8 million dollars, Sweden 10.5 million dollars, Canada 8.9 million dollars and Japan 8.9 million dollars.

“Governments are once again failing to respond to an emergency appeal. The logistical nightmare in Pakistan is bad enough without having to worry about funding shortfalls as well,” Jo Leadbeater, Oxfam’s advocacy director said in a statement Wednesday.

“The slow response to the UN South Asia appeal is depressingly familiar. These delays can cost thousands of people their lives. What will it take for rich countries to learn this obvious lesson?” she added.

Oxfam is calling for the creation of a global emergency fund that will plug the gaps and be in a position to deliver aid immediately.

However donor pledges to the fund currently total only 187 million dollars. This is less than 20 percent of the one billion dollar target of additional aid that Oxfam estimates donors should commit to ensure that the UN can respond immediately to future disasters.

“Until a one billion dollar fund exists, the chaotic passing of the begging bowl will go on and people who survived disasters will continue to die while they wait for aid,” said Leadbeater.

ActionAid, another Britain-based non-governmental organisation, says the amount of funds for emergency response should be based on need, not on the “preconceptions” of donors.

“Whatever the amount based on need is it should clearly be for the most affected people’s relief and recovery. Needs at the ground level should be prioritised. National governments should take the primary initiative to respond in any emergency and should also request for external assistance as per the situation and needs of the affected people,” Yasmin McDonnell, conflict and emergencies policy analyst at ActionAid told IPS.

Earlier this week the European Commission, the European Union’s executive, proposed an additional 96.5 million dollar aid package for Pakistan.

This compares to 571 million dollars for 2005 and 2006 to help countries affected by the tsunami pledged by Commission president José Manuel Barroso shortly after the disaster.

Louis Michel, EU commissioner for development and humanitarian aid says the relief effort is “a race against the clock.”

“We are facing an enormous humanitarian catastrophe and with winter just around the corner, a second humanitarian disaster looms for the four million people without a roof over their heads and the 70,000 injured people needing medical attention,” he said Monday.

ActionAid also insists that the emergency response should be linked to longer term rehabilitation and incorporate preparedness activities.

“In any disaster response, lives must be saved, but governments and donors must look to the longer term and provide the funds for disaster preparedness and rebuilding of livelihoods, thus linking any response to sustainable development,” said McDonnell.

Ministers and high-ranking officials from 65 UN member countries were meeting Wednesday in a new attempt to mobilise funds for the victims of South Asia’s devastating earthquake before autumn gives way to winter.