The Christian international humanitarian agency Church World Service said it was encouraged by pledges of support for Pakistan at the country’s donor conference on Saturday, but voiced strong concern at the possibility of increasing Pakistan’s debt burden.
CWS also called on donor countries to start immediately on making their pledges of fund a reality for the survivors in order to avert further deaths as winter continues to set in on the country and the regions devastated by last month’s earthquake.In the run-up to Saturday’s donor conference, Rev. John L. McCullough, who visited the country earlier in the month, said: “The job is far from over. The first snow fell in Kashmir this past week.
“Without immediate and major funds for food, for further shelter and medical aid, winter and disease will conspire to produce significant and further death and suffering.”
Rev. McCullough said: “There’s simply not enough to go around here. The UN and World Food Programme will run out of food before December is over and out of funds to keep helicopters and vehicles going by the end of this month. This is not NGO rhetoric; this is reality.”
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s initial request for $5.2billion for ongoing emergency relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation was exceeded by the more than 70 donor countries, financial institutions and aid organisations in attendance at the conference that promised $5.8billion in cash grants and loans.We are heartened by the generosity of the world’s major donors and particularly by the U.S.’s expanded pledge but historically, following major disasters only about half of the pledges made by donors ever materialise
CWS Emergency Response Programme Director Donna J. Derr
The CWS urged, however, that the donor countries turn the cash pledges into an immediate reality for the survivors still awaiting much needed materials and support.
“We are heartened by the generosity of the world’s major donors and particularly by the U.S.’s expanded pledge but historically, following major disasters only about half of the pledges made by donors ever materialise,” says CWS Emergency Response Programme Director Donna J. Derr.
The U.S. alone pledged $510million, including the $156million already given, just slightly less than Saudi Arabia, the largest single donor country at the conference, which pledged $573million in loans and grants.
