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| October 26, 2005 |
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| $470 Million For Quake-Hit Pakistan |
WASHINGTON - October 26, 2005. The World Bank announced Tuesday a $470 million package to help Pakistan
rebuild areas hit by a massive earthquake, reports Agence France Presse.
The move came ahead of a meeting of donor nations in the Swiss city of
Geneva on Wednesday amid criticism that the world community was not doing
enough to help Islamabad cope with the October 8 earthquake, which
flattened much of Pakistan-governed Kashmir and left more than 53,000
people dead. The aid package includes $200 million in quick disbursing
credits, $130 million in additional credit financing for so-called
community infrastructure and a $100 million loan for highway
reconstruction. Wolfowitz said the aid package was "a big step, but sadly,
just a first step as everyone would have to do much more. "We felt that it
was important to give the government the confidence to address the
immediate needs and as we develop a better idea of the medium-term needs
we will work on that as well," he added.
The Associated Press notes that despite a huge international relief
effort, fears are growing about survivors as the weather turns colder.
Temperatures dropped as low as minus 1.11 degrees C. (30 F.) in the
mountains Tuesday, dangerous weather for those left outdoors. "The scale
of this disaster is really unimaginable, and the problems that survivors are facing in worsening weather conditions are frightening," said Wolfowitz.
Reuters adds that Wolfowitz said he was encouraged by the Pakistani
government's response to the disaster, adding the Bank is "very eager to
do what we can to help." The World Bank said the assistance was "just a
first step" until Pakistan's medium-term needs are made clear. It said it
was working with the Asian Development Bank and other donors to draft a
"needs assessment" that will gauge the extent of the country's damage and
loss.
Kyodo News (Japan) meanwhile writes Pakistan's Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz
praised the World Bank's loan package: "The speed and scale of this
commitment is exactly what Pakistan needs right now.'' In a statement
released by the Bank, Aziz further said, ''We do welcome this from the
international community because it is the sort of support that is gong to
make all the difference."
In related news, The Wall Street Journal notes that at the UN special
donor meeting today, held to call attention to the earthquake crisis and
rally rich nations to donate more to hard-hit Pakistan, officials are
expected to draw up a list of specific needs for Pakistan and determine
how much more government money is needed to meet them. Another goal is to
better coordinate relief efforts, including how to handle specific
donations, which involve many organizations and countries.
Agence France Presse writes that the UN is to raise its flash appeal to
more than half a billion dollars to help Pakistan tackle the aftermath of
the devastating earthquake, a Pakistani diplomat said Wednesday. "The
United Nations has upgraded its flash appeal to $549 million," Masood
Khan, Pakistan's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, told the news agency
hours ahead of the donors conference in the Swiss city. The previous
target was $312 million for emergency aid in the six months after the
quake. "The enormity of the devastation caused by the massive earthquake in Pakistan will test if even this enhanced appeal would be adequate," Khan said.
The Financial Times also reports that Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's
president, warned yesterday, on the eve of a United Nations donors'
meeting in Geneva, that the total financial cost of the October 8
earthquake would exceed $5 billion and said the death toll was likely to
exceed 50,000. In an interview with the financial daily, General Musharraf
defended his handling of the worst natural disaster in Pakistan's history,
saying his government had "done a good, if not a very good, job". An
estimated 3 million people have been left homeless as a result of the 7.6
magnitude quake, of whom about 500,000 have yet to receive any aid because
of extreme difficulty penetrating remote valleys blocked by landslides.
Reuters finally notes that Britain is confident that the United Nations
will next month agree to launch a special $1 billion emergency aid fund to bring immediate relief to disaster-hit areas, a government spokesman said
on Tuesday. The spokesman for the Department for International Development said the new fund would remove the need for such so-called flash appeals. The special $1 billion standing fund idea was floated in December by British International Development Secretary Hilary Benn as part of a proposal for a total revamp of the UN's cumbersome emergency aid system. So far seven countries -- Britain, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the Netherlands -- have pledged a total of $187 million towards it. To speed up the process, Britain has proposed reforming the existing Central Emergency Revolving Fund -- which has just $50 million at its disposal and only offers loans for one year. The reformed CERF, if the proposal is approved, would not only have $1 billion permanently at its
disposal for immediate disbursement for emergency aid but the money would
be grants not loans.
Source: The World Bank |
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