UNICEF NZ Grateful Govt Has Increased Pakistan Funding

20-August 2010: Unicef New Zealand would like to thank the New Zealand Government for allocating an extra two million in foreign aid to Pakistan.

“It’s wonderful news to see that the Government appreciates how desperate the situation is in Pakistan,” says Dennis McKinlay, UNICEF executive director.

Although the Pakistan appeal was slow to get off the ground, more donations are beginning to come in, Mr McKinlay says.

Mr McKinlay says an interview with UNICEF Pakistan regional director Daniel O’Toole raised some crucial points - that show how serious the Pakistan situation is and the need for people to dig into their pockets. These include:

• The United Nations estimates that 7.5 million people are severely affected by the Pakistan floods and this figure may rise.

• The 35 degree Celsius sweltering heat provides perfect conditions for all waterborne diseases, including cholera. For example at one Punjab health unit, 80% of its 950 patients had watery diarrhoea. The World Health Organisation estimates that 3.5 million children are at serious risk of waterborne diseases, particularly severe (and life threatening) diarrhoea.

• The situation in Pakistan is getting worse. The water is still coming down. In some places, due to alluvial soil it will not be absorbed – in the Sindh area they will get stagnant water for months, spoiling the crops and prolonging the emergency phase.

• The eventual shift from Pakistan’s ‘emergency’ to ‘rehabilitation’ status will depend on the rain and location.

Because the situation is getting worse, UNICEF worldwide is now seeking $NZ195m in funding - up from its previous goal of $NZ60m.

UNICEF New Zealand has so far raised $140,000 for Pakistan in contrast to a total of $500,000 for Haiti.

ENDS

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