Aid agencies face closure of projects as money fails to arrive – worst case of
funding in a decade. A group of nine major international aid agencies said today that their aid effort of reaching over 1 million victims of the fighting in Swat valley of Pakistan was
under threat due to a lack of funds. The agencies face a shortfall in excess of £26m ($42m). World Vision faces an £7.5m ($12.1m) shortfall while Oxfam and Save the Children both
face deficits of £4 million ($6 million) each. Oxfam will have to close its programmes to the 360,000 people it had planned to assist if money does not arrive by July. Concern Worldwide will
also have to close its programme mid-July, just when the health risks will escalate due to the onset of the monsoon rains. “This is the worst funding crisis we’ve faced in over
a decade for a major humanitarian emergency. Some 2.5 million people have fled their homes. One month into this emergency, Oxfam is £4 million short and will have to turn our backs on some of
the world’s most vulnerable people. In the same period after the 2005 Pakistan earthquake, we had £14m committed from the UN, governments and the public,” said Jane Cocking,
Oxfam’s Humanitarian Director. The funding crisis is not affecting the agencies alone. The UN’s $543m appeal has only received $138m so far. This is a 75 percent shortfall. Out
of the 52 organisations requesting UN appeal funds, 30 have received no funds at all. The vast majority of the funds the UN appeal has received came before the recent outpouring of people
from the Swat valley, which swelled the number of displaced from 500,000 to 2.5 million people in early May, largest internal displacement of people in Pakistan’s history. Since May rich
countries have contributed a mere $50m to the UN appeal, a minuscule nine percent of the total required. The US, the world’s richest nation, is by far the greatest contributor to the
fund at $68m, giving 12.5 per cent of what is required since the initial crisis began in October 2008. The sixth richest country, the UK, has given 1.6 percent of requirements, Japan, the
world’s second largest economy, has given 1.4 percent, Germany, fourth richest country, has given 1.3 per cent, Canada 1.0 percent, Australia 0.8 percent, Norway 0.4 percent, Italy 0.3
percent, Netherlands 0.3 percent, Sweden 0.2 percent, France 0.02 percent. The agencies said that besides little money going into the UN appeal, the problem was also that even less money is
being dispersed to frontline agencies from the appeal. In a humanitarian crisis speed of delivery is vital. Previously governments would give part of their aid money directly to frontline agencies.
Now when government do give aid money, it tends to go to the UN which then passes it on to agencies working on the ground. Though the UN system can improve coordination and reduce duplication of
effort, the allocation of money to frontline agencies takes far too long. The UN funding system needs to be complimented with other diverse ways of getting aid money as swiftly as possible to those
saving lives. Five weeks into the escalation of the crisis, the UK’s Department for International Development says that it will now directly fund those front line non-governmental
agencies working within the UN appeal. Welcome as this change is, it will require other donors to be equally as flexible to cover the agencies’ £26m shortfall. “With
monsoon rains due by July, serious health risks will increase as water sources become contaminated and sanitation worsens. At a time when the risks of malaria, respiratory inspection and diarrhoea
start to escalate, agencies will be forced to close down our programmes. “The only reason we haven’t faced a massive humanitarian meltdown is the generosity of families
and communities of modest means who’ve looked after the vast majority of those who’ve fled the fighting. With so many mouths to feed, these communities will soon be running on empty. The
world’s richest nations need to dig much deeper into their pockets to help,” said Carolyn Miller, Chief Executive of Merlin.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
Pakistani army soldiers stand in front of documents and ammunition seized from Taliban militants in Mingora, the main town in Swat valley in this June 3, 2009 file photograph. Pashtuns in ...
