Oxfam condemns sluggish Pakistan donation response as DEC hits £9.5m3

Fundraising | Celina Ribeiro | 10 Aug 2010

Oxfam has slammed the sluggish response of international governments to the Pakistan crisis, reporting that the amount pledged amounts to just $3.20 per affected person.

Ten days after the crisis began, $45m has been committed to the relief effort by international governments, compared to the $742m committed by the international community to help the effort in Haiti ten days after the earthquake struck in January this year.

The United Nations has declared the disaster, which is affecting nearly 14 million people, the worst crisis of the last year or so.

Oxfam’s call for government aid to shift up a gear came a day before the Disasters Emergency Committee reported this afternoon that the public fundraising total has reached £9.5m. As reported by Civil Society on Monday, the pace of giving from the public for this appeal also appears to be significantly slower than the Haiti appeal, which raised more than £100m in public donations in total.

DEC chief executive Brendan Gormley said that the British public understand the “huge scale” of the disaster. “It is amazing that people are giving a million pounds a day nearly a week after we announced the appeal,” he said. “But with heavy rains continuing we urgently need more donations to save lives.”

Meanwhile, JustGiving has launched its first-ever emergency fundraising appeal. The online sponsorship fundraising site has emailed its 12 million-strong database asking for donations to Medecins Sans Frontieres. With a target of £70,000 the fundraising target is now approaching £45,000.

British-Pakistani celebrities have come out in support of the appeal, with boxer Amir Khan fronting the DEC’s text giving campaign and Dragon’s Den judge James Caan launching a campaign for the British Pakistan Foundation to raise £100,000 for Unicef’s work in the flood-afflicted country.

Pakistan is unlikely to get a reprieve from the weather, with more flooding predicted in other parts of the country.

Picture courtesy of Oxfam.

Directory: Disasters Emergency Committee | Oxfam

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Chris Smith
retired
14 Aug 2010

How does anyone know what JC has given/not given in support of Pakistan out of his own pocket? A lot of people in this country don't believe in Foreign Aid as such and have argued against the Overseas Aid budget being ring-fenced by the government. Anyone who does anything to try and raise money in the face of that, should be encouraged not sneered at.

[Reply]

PS Siu
Fundraiser
RNS
12 Aug 2010

Not going on a witch-hunt, but just googled JC and he's worth £73m give or take, so glad he's lending a hand to help raise £100k from other people.

[Reply]

PS Siu
Fundraiser
RNS
12 Aug 2010

"Dragon's Den judge James Caan launching a campaign for the British Pakistan Foundation to raise £100,000 for Unicef's work in the flood-afflicted country."

Really? As he's a self-proclaimed gazillionaire with business savvy, a bbc fee and a huge public profile, is that the best he can do? Since Celina's article today getting all hot and heavy that everybody should be giving, this guy launching a campaign to raise £100,000 perhaps needs some clarification - it certainly doesn't sound like he's giving £100,000, or indeed if there's any significant monetary commitment from him at all to reflect his economic and community status.

[Reply]

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