Five Million In Sindh Province Struggling W. Floods; Donor Response "Pathetic", Aid Workers Note

[hatrack]

EDIT

"Pathetic" was the verdict of one aid worker. The reaction from donors had been an "ominous silence", according to the International Committee of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Veteran aid worker David Wright, Pakistan Country Director with Save the Children, said it was the worst he had ever seen. "I've been in this game now for 15 years," he said " and I've never seen a response that has taken so long to get off the starting blocks. These people have lost their homes and their livelihoods. It's bigger than the tsunami."

EDIT

Aid agencies said major Western donors were not digging deep because of the economic downturn. They also admitted that there were concerns about corruption and bad governance here and worries about how their money was spent after last year's epic flooding which affected more than 20 million people across Pakistan.
'Bad brand'

The former head of Pakistan's National Disaster Management Agency, General Nadeem Ahmed, claimed recently that 5bn rupees donated last year had not been spent by March this year. A government official denied that donations had gone unused and suggested there might have been an accounting delay. Pakistan has been described as a "bad brand" by one diplomat. That may be so. But if donors don't give, it is the country's poor not corrupt politicians or officials who will pay the price.

EDIT

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-15332075

[phantom power]

1. global economic collapse intersecting with increasing natural disasters

:(

[Amonester]

2. Planet Earth Strikes Back!

Make No Mistake
Planet Earth
Will Win This War
If Our Species
Keeps Waging It
Instead Of Making
Peace Once And For
All