Getting aid to millions of tsunami victims is a race against time and nations must immediately come forward with the aid they've promised, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said yesterday at an emergency summit amid warnings that the 150,000 death toll may double because of disease.
World leaders have gathered in Indonesia, hardest hit by the Dec. 26 disaster, to figure out the best way to speed aid to victims. While nearly US$4 billion has been pledged worldwide, the UN has warned some of the promises might not be honored as in previous disasters.
PHOTO: CNA
Annan urged nations to channel US$1.7 billion of the funds to the United Nations for relief, including US$977 million for emergency aid.
"Whole communities have disappeared," Annan said, calling for the establishment of a tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean. "Millions in Asia, Africa, and even in far away countries, are suffering unimaginable trauma and psychological wounds that will take a long time to heal. Families have been torn apart.
"The disaster was so brutal, so quick, and so far-reaching, that we are still struggling to comprehend it," Annan added, stressing the need for donor "pledges to be converted into cash quickly ... It is a race against time."
The UN chief said the number killed across Asia and Africa would likely exceed 150,000, but the exact figure would never be known. The World Health Organization warned the toll could double if aid doesn't reach survivors soon.
"As many as 150,000 people are at extreme risk if a major disease outbreak in the affected areas occurs," said WHO Director-General Dr. Lee Jong-wook.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono described the calamity as "the most destructive natural disaster in living memory."
"Our response to this unprecedented catastrophe must be equally unprecedented," he said at the one-day summit, attended by leaders including Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao (
A tsunami warning system -- like the one already in place in the Pacific -- should be established in the Indian Ocean as quickly as possible, he said: "Prevention and early warning systems must become a priority."
Japan planned to offer technical expertise to set up the warning system. The country has one of the world's most advanced networks of fiber-optic sensors, which can warn of deadly tsunami within two minutes of a quake.
"No longer must we leave ourselves so vulnerable and so exposed," Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathaim said. "It is well-proven that 10 minutes advance warning can save hundreds of lives."
An early draft of the closing declaration of yesterday's meeting called for the warning system to be set up and for the UN to take the lead in coordinating the relief effort.
Powell told delegates the US would let the UN coordinate relief work. Soon after the tsunami struck, Washington said it and a few other countries would lead the aid effort.
Pledges of aid rushed in on the eve of yesterday's conference.
Australia raised its total aid pledge to US$810 million, the largest government contribution, topping Germany's US$660 million, followed by Japan and the United States.
The US was the first to raise the aid race stakes last week by pledging US$350 million. It's now fourth on the donor list and has sent in an aircraft carrier group and thousands of troops. Japan promised US$500 million last week.
On the sidelines of the meeting, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the European Union will immediately donate US$132 million for tsunami relief and look at setting up a US$1.32 billion loan for affected nations.
However that amount still needed to be approved by EU governments and the European Parliament, which could happen as soon as early next week, officials said.
Also see stories:
Minister upset over summit ban
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
The Chien Feng IV (勁蜂, Mighty Hornet) loitering munition is on track to enter flight tests next month in connection with potential adoption by Taiwanese and US armed forces, a government source said yesterday. The kamikaze drone, which boasts a range of 1,000km, debuted at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in September, the official said on condition of anonymity. The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and US-based Kratos Defense jointly developed the platform by leveraging the engine and airframe of the latter’s MQM-178 Firejet target drone, they said. The uncrewed aerial vehicle is designed to utilize an artificial intelligence computer
Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating yesterday, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters. Reporters on the Thai side of the border heard sounds of outgoing, indirect fire yesterday. About 400,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas in Thailand and about 700 schools closed while fighting was ongoing in four border provinces, said Thai Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesman for the military. Cambodia evacuated more than 127,000 villagers and closed hundreds of schools, the Thai Ministry of Defense said. Thailand’s military announced that
CABINET APPROVAL: People seeking assisted reproduction must be assessed to determine whether they would be adequate parents, the planned changes say Proposed amendments to the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法) advanced yesterday by the Executive Yuan would grant married lesbian couples and single women access to legal assisted reproductive services. The proposed revisions are “based on the fundamental principle of respecting women’s reproductive autonomy,” Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) quoted Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君), who presided over a Cabinet meeting earlier yesterday, as saying at the briefing. The draft amendment would be submitted to the legislature for review. The Ministry of Health and Welfare, which proposed the amendments, said that experts on children’s rights, gender equality, law and medicine attended cross-disciplinary meetings, adding that
RSS