Oxfam: Governments have Failed to Respond Effectively to Year ofDisasters

The South Asian earthquake is the latest in a year of some of the worst disasters of modern times, yet governments have failed to respond adequately and lives have been lost as a result, international agency Oxfam said today.
Oxfam's new briefing paper, "2005: Year of Disasters," finds that the number of people affected by natural disasters has climbed dramatically over the last decade, with tens of millions of people affected in the past year alone. It says that the response to these emergencies has been characterized by "an uneven, often late, and sometimes inefficient international humanitarian performance that has been undermined by inadequate funding for the UN's vital appeals."
Greg Puley, policy adviser for Oxfam, said the report surveys some of the major crises in 2005 and finds that the international response to United Nations appeals for many of them -— including Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo, Darfur, and southern Africa -- has been vastly inadequate.
"While governments responded generously to the tsunami, and look set to do so following the Asian earthquake, they virtually ignored less visible crises in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, and Niger," Puley said. "Lack of quick and adequate funding translates into tens of millions of women, men, and children around the world suffering needlessly, and in some cases it is a death sentence for thousands."
As a first step toward reforming the humanitarian system, Oxfam urges governments to commit an additional $1 billion to a UN emergency fund on top of their existing humanitarian aid to ensure an immediate response to crises. This rapid-response emergency fund would help end the delays that have cost so many lives and would make sure that all crises get funding, not just the most newsworthy. Reforming the existing UN Central Emergency Revolving Fund (CERF) is a vital first step to which governments must agree when they meet to review humanitarian action at the UN General Assembly in November.
"Starvation and prolonged suffering does not have to be inevitable," Puley said. "The food crisis in Niger was predicted months beforehand and could have been prevented if adequate funding had been immediately available. The creation of a $1 billion UN rapid response fund could help save thousands of lives and reduce the suffering of millions."
http://www.usnewswire.com/

Related Articles

• Oxfam Welcomes Johanns Statement on Subsidy Reform; Immediate Congressional Action Needed to Reform Misguided Farm Policy
  8 October 2005



• Likely New Privacy Litigation in 2005 Will Be a Focus of P&AB's Privacy Year
  11 February 2005



• Could Vioxx Have Caused Death, Stroke or a Heart Attack?
  2 February 2005



• GeoPharma Investors Have Until End of the Month to File for Lead Plaintiff
  16 January 2005