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.