08-18-2010, 04:56 PM
ADAM B. ELLICK
KARACHI, Pakistan — The United Nations on Tuesday warned that emergency supplies needed to cope with the growing humanitarian disaster in flood-hit Pakistan was not coming into the country fast enough, underscoring what many fear will be the lasting effects on the South Asian nation’s overall economy, food supply and political stability.
“Money is not coming in as fast as we would like,” a U.N. spokesman, Maurizio Giuliano, said, adding that a fraction of emergency shelters, food and water had been provided to the growing number of people displaced by the flooding.
The U.N. warning came despite a pledge by the World Bank of $900 million in funding for Pakistan. In making the announcement, the World Bank said the money would come from the Bank’s International Development Association, and would be made available by diverting funding originally planned for other projects.
Water continued to spread across the country on Tuesday, adding to the worst flooding in memory and confronting the country with a complex array of challenges, government and relief officials warned. Though they range over the immediate, medium and long term, nearly all need to be addressed urgently.
Providing clean water for millions and avoiding the spread of diseases such as cholera are the first priorities. But there are also looming food shortages and price spikes, even in cities. There is also the danger that farmers will miss the fall planting season, raising the prospect of a new cycle of shortfalls next year.
“There was a first wave of deaths caused by the floods themselves,” Mr. Giuliano said. “But if we don’t act soon enough, there will be a second wave of deaths,” caused by a lack of clean water, food shortages and diseases transmitted by water or animals.
KARACHI, Pakistan — The United Nations on Tuesday warned that emergency supplies needed to cope with the growing humanitarian disaster in flood-hit Pakistan was not coming into the country fast enough, underscoring what many fear will be the lasting effects on the South Asian nation’s overall economy, food supply and political stability.
“Money is not coming in as fast as we would like,” a U.N. spokesman, Maurizio Giuliano, said, adding that a fraction of emergency shelters, food and water had been provided to the growing number of people displaced by the flooding.
The U.N. warning came despite a pledge by the World Bank of $900 million in funding for Pakistan. In making the announcement, the World Bank said the money would come from the Bank’s International Development Association, and would be made available by diverting funding originally planned for other projects.
Water continued to spread across the country on Tuesday, adding to the worst flooding in memory and confronting the country with a complex array of challenges, government and relief officials warned. Though they range over the immediate, medium and long term, nearly all need to be addressed urgently.
Providing clean water for millions and avoiding the spread of diseases such as cholera are the first priorities. But there are also looming food shortages and price spikes, even in cities. There is also the danger that farmers will miss the fall planting season, raising the prospect of a new cycle of shortfalls next year.
“There was a first wave of deaths caused by the floods themselves,” Mr. Giuliano said. “But if we don’t act soon enough, there will be a second wave of deaths,” caused by a lack of clean water, food shortages and diseases transmitted by water or animals.