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| November 19, 2005 | Saturday | Shawwal 16, 1426 |
Coordinated efforts to save quake victims stressed
ISLAMABAD, Nov 18: Oxfam, an international non-government organization, has called for coordinated efforts by the international community to save the lives of millions of earthquake survivors who are set to brave the harsh winter in the coming months.
Oxfam International’s report “A Mountain To Climb”, issued a day ahead of the international donors conference, concludes that: “Donor countries need to provide their fair share of the emergency relief required.
The UN must be properly funded to scale up their operation in the earthquake-hit areas and provide it with personnel and material help. Humanitarian principles and standards must be upheld.”
It said the civil society monitoring and open discussion about successes and challenges in the earthquake response would help the government of Pakistan and international community to revise and improve delivery mechanisms and ensure effective implementation of the reconstruction plan.
The reconstruction efforts should ensure that living standards and development opportunities are restored to levels better than those before the crisis, and should reduce vulnerability to future disasters.
Programmes for rebuilding should take into account the protection of the environment and the need to avoid deforestation, the report said.
The international community and the Pakistan government need to seize the opportunity to ‘build back better’. This means not only improved physical infrastructure but social infrastructure too, including improved livelihood options, free and quality health care, education, water and sanitation, and an opportunity for poor men and women to participate in their own development, it added.
The planning and construction of all public buildings, especially schools and hospitals, should be based on the highest earthquake-resistant standards with independent monitoring to ensure that this is carried out, the report said.
The international community needs to fulfil its obligations not only in the relief phase but in reconstruction too.
The decisions made at this conference could lift hundreds and thousands of people out of poverty. We must ensure that this conference is not just another talking shop, but a real opportunity for lasting change and for civil society to be empowered, says Jane Cocking, Oxfam’s humanitarian coordinator in Pakistan.
Hundreds of thousands of people are out in the cold and Oxfam International is calling on the United Nations to immediately scale up its aid operation on the ground in Pakistan and for international donors to properly fund the aid response, Jane Cocking said.
Six weeks on from the devastating earthquake that claimed the lives of an estimated 80,000 people and made a further 3.5 million homeless, the UN response to this disaster is severely lacking in resources and personnel on the ground, Oxfam’s humanitarian coordinator said.
Many countries have failed to properly fund the UN appeal leaving hundreds of thousands of survivors more vulnerable. As the government representatives from around the world meet in Islamabad to discuss relief and reconstruction efforts, Oxfam is calling for a coordinated response to ensure that survivors’ voices are heard and needs are met.
“If lives are to be saved, relief operations must be dramatically scaled up.
The international donors conference will be a test of commitment. If the political will for these aims is there, effective relief and reconstruction is possible,” Jane Cocking said.
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