FROM THE FIELD
You can help save lives:
Please donate nowThe funding crisis is not affecting the agencies alone. The UN’s $543m appeal has only received $138m so far. This is a 75 per cent 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 per cent of requirements, Japan, the
world’s second largest economy, has given 1.4 per cent, Germany, fourth richest country, has given 1.3 per cent, Canada 1.0 per cent, Australia 0.8 per cent, Norway 0.4 per cent,
Italy 0.3 per cent, Netherlands 0.3 per cent, Sweden 0.2 per cent, France 0.02 per cent. 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.Carolyn Miller, Chief Executive of Merlin, said:“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 infection 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.â€Merlin is currently providing basic health services to around 220,000 displaced people in camps and host communities in Mardan, Nowshera and Peshawar
districts; however funds received through the UN (from CERF and other institutional donors) have been very limited and currently will finish at the end of June. Funds received directly from
institutional donors have also been very limited. If no additional funds are received soon, Merlin will not be able to sustain the level of services to the current and increasing numbers of displaced
people. At present less than 40 per cent of health needs are covered. Should service provision further decrease, this will have a disastrous impact on the health status of IDPs and host
communities with high potential for widespread epidemics. Find out more about our work in Pakistan
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
