When I spoke in this very same room on 11 January at the Tsunami
Ministerial donors meeting, I could not have imagined that there
would be a need to address natural disasters issues at this
level again in the same year.
The fact is, however, that we are here again, with similar human
misery to address and with similar points about the consequences
of disasters for the most vulnerable people. We express our
deepest sympathy to all the people affected by the South Asia
earthquake we are addressing today.
The position of our Federation and its worldwide network of
National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is clear from
our own revised appeal for 152 million Swiss Francs. The appeal
is available here today.
The IFRC and its participating National Societies are mainly
working just outside the epicentre of the earthquake. Our main
concentrations extend from the immediate to the longer term
needs of the population, complementing the protection and care
which is so ably provided by our colleagues from the ICRC.
One of the essential humanitarian actions involves the provision
of adequate shelter, at all stages of an emergency and especially
now in Pakistan.
I mention this because we have been offered a role in providing
cluster leadership for the UN family with respect to emergency
shelter in general.
This underlines the urgency for us as for other agencies and
humanitarian bodies in building fresh and sustainable relationships
with all stakeholders, including donors.
For us this means that the donor relationship extends to governments
as well as our own members. It is also demonstrated by the strength
of the support we receive every day, and in every disaster situation,
from the public.
So, we join Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Emergency Relief Coordinator
Jan Egeland and all our partners in the hope that you will also
motivate others in your own countries to support our work in
Pakistan and other humanitarian emergencies.
We must do this through a new approach to the links between
governments, the public, the corporate sector and the humanitarian
community.
This is the only way to address urgency of the scale which confronts
us now. This is why we have worked closely with the Pakistan
Red Crescent Society to mobilise a massive relief operation
supported so far by 25 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
and their donors - to whom we extend special thanks for their
support.
They are working alongside and in support of hundreds of dedicated
members and volunteers of the Pakistan Red Crescent. Our President
is in Pakistan now to support the operations, and I will be
there myself next week.
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