The United Nations said on Friday that it has so far received in contributions and commitments less than a fifth of the 550 million US dollar it needs to aid about three million people left homeless by the disaster, as the freezing rains speeding up the race against winter and disease among hundreds of thousands of survivors of Pakistan’s devastating earthquake.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that funding for the flash appeal for Oct 8 quake, which was increased late last month from the 312 million originally sought, now amounted to 109 million in commitments and contributions, with a further 45 million in pledges.

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has deployed mobile teams to fix water and sanitation-related problems in relief camps following an outbreak of diarrhoea among victims of the quake.

“In crowded conditions and with few basic services, health problems can easily arise. We are trying to reach as many camps as possible to prevent the outbreak of diseases,” UNHCR’s head of the camp management cluster Michael Zwack said.

In organized camps in the Balakot and Batagram areas, the UN Children’s Fund Unicef and the non-governmental organizations Oxfam and the Taraque Foundation have already set up water points, latrines and bathrooms. But hygiene standards are harder to ensure in hundreds of makeshift camps scattered across the remote mountainous region.

“The need to improve water and sanitation has never been more urgent,” a UN spokesman said. OCHA noted that the Pakistani army had reported that there are 160,000 people living above the snow line in Kaghan Valley and the Allai. Those who remain in their villages there urgently need shelter assistance, including the winterization of tents already provided, in order to survive the winter or they have to move to lower areas.

PHOTO CAPTION

A Kashmiri quake survivor sits beside a fire at Sadhna Pass, 135 km (84 miles) west of Srinagar, November 11, 2005. (REUTERS)