Aid minister: Pakistan floods response 'woeful'
Updated on 16 August 2010
As aid agencies in Pakistan warn that emergency supplies are taking too long to reach flood-stricken areas of the country, international development secretary Andrew Mitchell tells Channel 4 News the global response to the floods has been "woefully inadequate".
Speaking on a visit to Pakistan yesterday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described the floods as the worst disaster he had seen.
However, the UN has so far only raised a fraction of the aid it has asked for.
Neva King, Oxfam's Pakistan country director described the situation as "frightening".
"Communities desperately need clean water, latrines and hygiene supplies, but the resources currently available cover only a fraction of what is required."
In an interview with Channel 4 News, Mr Mitchell described the international response as "woefully inadequate."
"For whatever reason, woefully inadequate fits the bill. But we've got to move on from that now and make sure that there really is a properly funded and co-ordinated effort to get the right resources onto the ground," he said
However he argued the reasons for the slow international response could not be blamed on Pakistan's international reputation: "I think you've got to look at the contrast between the awful events which took place in Haiti where you have an instantaneous explosive event which galvanises the world's attention and a disaster which has unfolded quite gradually.
"I think some have been slow to see the extent of this crisis."
The comments from the international development secretary came as the UK's Disasters and Emergency Committee (DEC) announced it had raised £15m since launching its floods appeal just over two weeks ago.
DEC rejected claims that donations were low and said comparisons between disasters were unhelpful.
A spokesman told Channel 4 News, "In 45 years, the Haiti appeal was the second most successful appeal, with the Asian tsunami being the most successful."
DEC said that claims the level of donations was being affected by negative public perceptions of Pakistan did not ring true and pointed to the UK response to 2005's Kashmir earthquake, which before the Haiti disaster was its second most successful appeal.
The UK government has donated £31m to the aid effort which it says will be spent on supplies such as tents, blankets and essential medicines.
Only a quarter of the $459m (£293m) aid needed for initial relief has arrived, according to the United Nations.
That contrasts with the United States giving at least $1bn (£638,645,289) in military aid last year to its regional ally to battle militants.
The secretary general of the UN, Ban Ki-Moon called for more international aid during a visit to the disaster area.
It is two weeks since the floods began to rip through Pakistan, devastating areas from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the north west of the country to Sindh province in the south.
The UN estimates that 1,600 people have died in the emergency so far but that figure could increase significantly if diseases such as cholera break out.
So far, around one tenth of Pakistan's population has been affected by the floods with rains easing off for the time being.
