IRIN
PAKISTAN: UN Foundation establishes earthquake responses fund
21 December 2005


[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United 
Nations]

ISLAMABAD, 21 December (IRIN) - The United Nations Foundation has 
established the South Asia Earthquake Response Fund to enable 
private-sector donors to support the world body's relief and 
rehabilitation efforts, with an initial contribution of US $1 million by 
the foundation itself.

"The victims of this disaster have turned to the UN and the 
international community in their time of need, and we can't let them 
down," Ted Turner, founder and chairman of the foundation said in the 
Pakistani capital, Islamabad, concluding a four-day visit of Pakistan's 
earthquake-affected areas on Tuesday.

"Seeing how much progress has been made in the face of this disaster has 
made me proud to be a human being," Turner remarked, while addressing a 
gathering at the Thori emergency camp in Muzaffarabad, capital of 
Pakistani-administered Kashmir. "Each of us can make a difference in the 
lives of those who have lost so much," he added.

More than 80,000 people were killed and more than 100,000 people were 
injured after the powerful quake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale 
ripped through Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and 
Pakistani-administered Kashmir on 8 October.

In addition, over 3.5 million people were rendered homeless across the 
region, with extensive damage to public-service infrastructure. An 
estimated 2.3 million people also need food support through the winter 
season.

The UN's Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan, Jan Vandemoortele, 
appreciated the financial contribution as well as the visit of Turner 
and other board members of the UN Foundation. "Media attention is 
essential to ensure that the earthquake does not become a forgotten 
tragedy at a time when the affected people face a difficult winter and 
such a visit helps keep the eyes of the world focused on the urgent 
needs of the survivors," he said.

In addition to its earthquake relief activities, the UN Foundation has 
also mobilised significant funds for polio eradication efforts in the 
country in partnership with the Gates Foundation, Rotary International, 
the UN's Children Fund (UNICEF), the US Centre for Disease Control and 
Prevention, the World Bank, and the UN's World Health Organization 
(WHO).

Together, the partners are providing $45 million to enable the Pakistani 
government to undertake, with key UN agencies, a 2006 campaign to 
eradicate polio.

The UN Foundation was established in 1998 with businessman and 
philanthropist Ted Turner's historic $1 billion gift to support United 
Nations' causes. The foundation aims to meet the most pressing health, 
humanitarian, socioeconomic, and environmental challenges of the 21st 
century through its grant making and by building new and innovative 
public-private partnerships.


IRIN photos and articles of the Asia earthquake impact are available to 
media and members of the humanitarian community free-of-charge. Articles 
can be accessed at www.IRINnews.org. Full-sized images suitable for 
publications can be downloaded directly from the public photo 
library:www.irinnews.org/photogallery/iringallery .  To search for 
appropriate photos select 'Pakistan' under the Country search dropdown 
box.

New photos and articles are added daily.


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