Thousands of people could die unnecessarily from disease, diarrhea and untreated injuries if a disaster-weary world doesn't help quake-ravaged Pakistan, Unicef's chief warned during a helicopter tour of the region yesterday.
Ann Veneman said the window of opportunity to act is closing, with winter rolling rapidly. Forecasters are predicting a colder than usual winter, with up to five metres of snow in some places. Relief officials say some 800,000 quake survivors could face the frigid weather with absolutely no shelter.
Despite dire warnings of a looming calamity, the United Nations has had difficulty raising money for the quake victims. As of Friday, it had received just 20 per cent of the 550 million US dollar it needs for the next six months. Officials have warned that the shortfall could force UN helicopters to stop flying as early as this week.
Pakistan's minister of social welfare Zobaida Jalal who accompanied Veneman on the trip, said the tragedy was unavoidable, but that the current crisis is a test of the world's humanity.
Billionaire Saudi Arabian Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal visited Pakistan-administered Kashmir and announced he would set up 20 schools and donate a further 1m.
"Twenty primary schools will be opened in Muzaffarabad and other areas," Talal, flanked by Pakistani premier Shaukat Aziz, told reporters after attending a military briefing on relief efforts.
He has already announced 7m as his personal contribution for the rehabilitation of earthquake victims.
Pope Benedict XVI made a new appeal to the international community to provide humanitarian aid to the victims.
The quake left behind "considerable damage" and that "it seems that the need is even greater than aid that has been offered up to now," the Pontiff told the crowd gathered in Saint Peter's square for his Sunday Angelus blessing.
Pakistan and India reached an unprecedented agreement yesterday to open their border in Kashmir to aid the flow of relief goods and reunite divided families.
The two countries issued a joint statement after marathon talks to establish five crossing points along the Line of Control.
Iran has set up a 200 million credit line to encourage its engineering firms to help rebuild earthquake-shattered towns and roads in neighbouring Pakistan.
PHOTO CAPTION
Kashmiri earthquake survivor Saima Rafiq But decorates the grave of her 13-year-old brother Abass at a new cemetery in Kamsar in Neelum Valley, north of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, October 31, 2005. (REUTERS)