|
|
| February 7, 2006 | Tuesday | Muharram 8, 1427 |
Aziz backs proposal for international relief fund
ISLAMABAD, Feb 6: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday launched the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) scheme and added his voice to global calls for setting up an international fund for managing disasters under UN auspices.
“There should be a permanent purse to provide relief in the case of disasters and all countries should contribute to it,” the prime minister told a gathering at the launching ceremony.
“This will enable the UN to respond faster to calamities,” he said while noting that it was difficult to raise funds for disasters once they had occurred.
He paid tributes to the UN’s assistance to Pakistan saying it was wonderful.
The prime minister said the government was striving to create income generating opportunities for quake survivors through loans and micro-finance along with reconstruction work.
He said housing in the affected areas would be owner driven. The government will provide money for reconstruction while the affectees will construct their homes at the same place by themselves, except for instances where the site was no more suitable for construction. In such cases, he said, the government would share information with the affectees.
Mr Aziz said that fortunately there were no epidemics in the aftermath of the disaster and the much dreaded second wave of deaths did not occur. He said the camp management has also improved with time and better facilities were now available in the camps as compared to the earlier days.
The prime minister also praised the opposition’s role during the crisis. “The opposition was cooperative, supportive and worked with us and made it easy for the government to conduct relief activities.”
He complimented the media for showing to the world glimpses of the disaster and its intensity and for helping in mobilising international support.
Speaking about volunteerism in the country, he said it was the first time that the country had “galvanized and gelled together”. The government, therefore, decided to tap this resource not only for relief and reconstruction, but also to take the country forward.
“These volunteer bodies and activities should be permanent,” he said, adding there was a dire need for volunteers for counselling and trauma handling.
National Volunteer Movement’s (NVM) convener Muhammad Ali Durrani, speaking on this occasion, said the UN volunteers would help organize a competent and dedicated corps of volunteers to support rehabilitation. NVM, he said, would act as a partner and facilitator for UNV.
The UNDP’s country director Haoliang Xu, in his presentation on the UNV scheme, said it was a $5 million project with $1.2 million earmarked for 2006.
UNV will have 40 national and 11 international volunteers. UNV would enlist the services of experts in different fields as volunteers.
UN coordinator Jan Vandemoortele said the volunteers would support recovery, and would subsequently help the country meet the millenium development goals.
|
|
