Pakistan Floods: Country drowning but relief funding slow

Floods that have engulfed Pakistan are a mega disaster and the world needs to mount a mega response to ensure the millions affected get the help they need, international aid agency Oxfam said as it called for a "gear shift" in the response to the crisis.

Almost 14 million people are now affected by the rising monsoon rains, according to latest figures, and that number is likely to increase with water now surging south into Sindh Province.

The UN describes the floods as the world's "worst" current disaster, but compared with other recent crises the speed of the donor response to Pakistan's flooding has been sluggish. According to the UN's financial tracking system, less than $45 million has been committed, plus $91 million pledged, which breaks down to just $3.20 committed per flood-affected person.

This pales in comparison with the amounts committed to other crises. Within the first 10 days of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake, which left some 3.5 million people homeless, the international community had committed $247 million and pledged $45 million. This works out to $70 committed per person.

In the first 10 days after Cyclone Nargis, which affected 2.4 million when it struck off the coast of Myanmar, almost $110 million was committed (and $109 million pledged) in the first 10 days. This works out at $46 committed per person.

Likewise some $742 million was committed to Haiti 10 days after the quake and $920 million pledged. Some 1.5 million people were directly affected by the quake, which works out at $495 per person, in funds committed, in the first 10 days.

"The rains are continuing and each hour that passes the flooding is multiplying misery across the entire country," said Oxfam country director Neva Khan. "Swathes of Pakistan are still under water and people have seen homes, shops, schools and crops flattened. The world must not leave these people stranded. This is a mega disaster and it needs a mega response."

To date only five donors - USA, Australia, UK, Italy and Kuwait - have committed or pledged more than $5 million in new funding in response to the crisis.

"We have all been shocked by the ferocity and magnitude of this disaster. Everyone - donors, the UN, aid agencies, the government - all of us need to shift gear on this crisis. The people here are living in desperate conditions. This is the biggest disaster in the world right now and we all need to get behind it," Khan said.

The UN is setting up a humanitarian coordination center in Islamabad, and will launch a comprehensive plan for the disaster in the coming days. The Pakistan government has also announced that it will send delegations to other countries to seek financial support for flood survivors.