UN urges world to pick up pace again

UN warns that a lot more needs to done to avert further disasters. PHOTO: REUTERS

ISLAMABAD: The United Nations on Sunday disclosed that 64 per cent of the appeal that has been funded remains static, urging the international community to step up donations as floods continue to cause devastation across Pakistan.

“A week after the UN secretary General’s visit to Pakistan, we saw funds going up and we were satisfied but the past one week funding remains stagnant and we want it to go up as soon as possible,” said UNOCHA spokesman, Maurizio Giuliano. “The figures will be revised in the upcoming month.”

With the passage of time, one million more people have been displaced increasing the number of affected people to 17.6 million, out of which eight million are in urgent need of humanitarian aid.

Frances Kennedy from the World Food Program (WFP) said that according to the figures, which were assessed on Sunday night, one month rations for more than 2.6 million people have been distributed so far.

“There is still an urgent need to address to the needs of 800,000 people whose needs can only be met by air assistance,” he said. Kennedy added that helicopters are moving towards southern Sindh and aid is being delivered to Jaccobabad, but more help is needed to reach the northern areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

“WFP is only providing wheat flour, cooking flour and biscuits. Yellow peas and rice have been delivered from Karachi and 500 tons will soon be distributed in Sindh,” he added.

International Organization for Migration (IOM) representative, Salim Rehmat, said that the supplies coming in from abroad are increasing daily. “There are two to three flights coming in daily from the US and UK with not just tents and plastic sheets, but also household goods — kitchen sets, blankets etc,” he said.

IOM is also working on displaying key messages on brochures of health and sanitation all over, he said.

“We have distributed radio sets so that people are in touch with what is happening across the country and are aware of the threats,” added Rehmat.

Published in The Express Tribune, August  31^st, 2010.