The floods that have surged through Pakistan over the last 2 weeks are the worst in living memory. The UN is saying that the number of people affected exceeds the total number affected by the Indian Ocean Tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the Haiti earthquake combined.
With an estimated 6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, I am concerned that so far the international community hasn’t responded with the speed or on the scale warranted by a disaster of this magnitude.
The United Nations has estimated that a total of $460 million is needed. So far, international donors have committed just over $150 million between them, which amounts to just over $4 per affected person. At a similar stage in the Pakistan earthquake response in 2005, donors had committed a total of $247 million, equivalent to $46 per affected person and ten days into the response to the Haiti earthquake, donors had committed $742 million, or $495 per affected person.
It is great that the UK government is the second biggest donor to the flood response (after the US). But it is very disappointing that the European Commission, which should be a very significant donor, has only pledged 10 million Euros on top of their current programme, which is completely insufficient, given the scale of the disaster.
I believe it is a matter of urgency that funds available for the flood response are increased via the EU’s humanitarian Aid department, ECHO. I’m going to write to my MEP asking them to put pressure on the EU president Jose Barroso to increase these funds. I urge you to do the same.
Click here for how to find your MEP.
Alternatively click here to send your own email to Jose Barroso.
You can also help the relief effort by donating funds to the Disasters Emergency Committe online, or by calling them on 0370 60 60 900.
Tags: ECHO, EU, European commission, funds, MEP, Oxfam, pakistan_floods
