Pakistan won more aid pledges yesterday after concerns that money is not coming through fast enough to help 20 million people hit by unprecedented floods and stave off a “second wave of death” from disease.
Torrential monsoon rain triggered catastrophic floods which have affected a fifth of the country, wiping out villages, rich farm land, infrastructure and killing an estimated 1,600 people in the nation’s worst ever natural disaster.
The UN last week launched an appeal for US$459 million to cover the next 90 days. Over the weekend, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Pakistan and called on the world to quicken its aid pledges.
PHOTO: REUTERS
It has received 40 percent —about US$184 million — of that so far, said Maurizio Giuliano, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). An additional US$43 million has been pledged.
“We would like our pledges to turn into checks as soon as possible because the situation is getting very bad,” Giuliano said.
Japan yesterday pledged an additional US$10 million in emergency aid and Australia promised an extra US$21.6 million.
“There are grave risks that the flooding will worsen Pakistan’s social circumstances but also its long-term economic circumstances will be potentially devastated,” Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told ABC Radio.
State media in Saudi Arabia said US$20.5 million in aid had been raised on the first day of a national campaign for the Pakistani floods.
US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson said yesterday the US had committed at least US$87 million in aid and expected to give more in the coming days.
More US helicopters are expected to join the 19 already dispatched to help ferry stranded Pakistanis and deliver food and other items, US officials said.
However, Britain has branded the international response “lamentable,” while charities said Pakistan was suffering from an “image deficit” partly due to perceived links to terror.
The World Bank also agreed to provide Islamabad with a loan of US$900 million, warning that the impact of the disaster on the economy was expected to be “huge.”
The World Bank said the funds it is offering are to help Pakistan recover from the floods and would be redirected from ongoing and planned projects in the country.
With huge destruction to roads, bridges and crops in many areas, authorities expect reconstruction to take years and cost billions.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the country could not cope on its own and warned the disaster could play into the hands of insurgents.
Care International spokeswoman Melanie Brooks said the UN must explain to donor states that “the money is not going to go to the hands of the Taliban.”
“The victims are the mothers, the farmers, children,” she said.
TAIWAN PITCHES IN
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said yesterday that Taiwan donated 10,000 euros (US$12,800) to flood victims via the Holy See on Aug. 6.
While Taiwan does not have diplomatic relations with Pakistan, the donation was based on humanitarian concerns and goodwill, said Lin Jinn-jong (林進忠), director-general of the ministry’s Department of West Asian Affairs.
Taiwan sympathized with countries affected by climate change, since Typhoon Morakot caused massive damage to the country last year, Lin said.
Meanwhile, Giuliano said about 6 million people were at risk of deadly water-borne diseases, including 3.5 million children. Typhoid and hepatitis A and E are also concerns, he said, adding that the WHO was preparing to assist up to 140,000 people in case of a cholera outbreak.
“We fear we’re getting close to the start of seeing a second wave of death if not enough money comes through, due to water-borne diseases along with lack of clean water and food shortages,” Giuliano said.
In other developments, authorities warned that the swollen Indus River may burst its banks again in coming days.
Officials in Sindh Province said more floods were likely over the next 24 to 48 hours.
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