ISLAMABAD, Nov 8: The United Nations said on Tuesday that one month after the devastating South Asian earthquake it was ready for the “colossal job” of keeping survivors alive during the winter.
“The job is colossal but there is a feeling that this is a doable job,” UN Emergency Coordinator Jan Vandemoortele said.
“It is not mission impossible. The job can be done and to get it done we need two things, cash and coordination,” Mr Vandemoortele told a news conference.
Just two weeks after the massive October 8 earthquake, aid officials were in a desperate situation in trying to reach survivors but things had improved in the past fortnight, he said.
“Perhaps for the first time since the 8th of October there is a sense of cautious optimism in the humanitarian community,” he added.
Though cash-strapped, the UN was racing against time to save survivors from the bitter cold in the mountains of Kashmir and North West Frontier Province.
“We see that the pipeline is gradually becoming a reality in terms of money and in terms of deliverables — the tents the blankets, the slates for the latrines,” Mr Vandemoortele said.
“It is moving. And if we can keep the momentum, and there is no reason that we should not able to keep momentum on our side, we will be ready for the winter,” he said.
“We are confident that we will be able to continue our operation because resources are coming on a daily basis. We are also drawing from the UN revolving fund and we have clearly looked on our logistics needs because it was a big ticket item on our flash appeal.
“And the news that we just heard about the roads being opened has a major impact on the requirements in terms of dollars to keep these operations going.”
On the cash side a total of 1.4 billion dollars has been pledged to Pakistan and 380 million dollars of that has been handed over so far, he said.
Some 85 million dollars has come through the UN.
“Our objective is to keep people alive,” he said.
Mr Vandemoortele said at least an additional 42.6 million dollars would be required in November, the critical month before the harsh winter sets in.
Shelter was one of the top five priorities, followed by camp management, heating, sanitation, food and seed distribution, he said.
One month after the devastating earthquake, aid agencies are facing a cash crisis as the threat of disease and death looms over vast numbers of homeless survivors and a bitter winter closes in.
The United Nations is struggling to raise $550 million for a medium-term programme to help victims of the Oct 8 quake that killed over 86,000 people.
The total response to the UN appeal has only been $134 million despite a chorus of warnings of a second disaster unless there is a faster flow of shelter supplies and medical aid.
Aid workers in the disaster zone still face a logistical nightmare with countless high-country settlements cut off by landslides that blocked or swept away roads, and money to keep a fleet of relief helicopters in the air fast running out.
Every day the weather gets colder, with rain and snow forecast in areas over 2,000 metres in coming days.
“I’ve never seen a situation where so much has to be done in such a short time,” said Pat Duggan, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Muzaffarabad, the ruined capital of Pakistani Kashmir.
Shelter, food and medical care are the priorities.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is heading efforts to ensure survivors get at least some sort of roof over their heads for winter.
IOM official Chris Lom said 373,000 tents had been delivered and 127,000 were on the way.
“We don’t need to order any more family tents at this point,” Mr Lom said. — Agencies
