Pakistan floods worse than Haiti quake: Oda

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1 hour, 12 minutes ago

By Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - The damage caused by Pakistan's massive flooding is worse than January's Haiti earthquake, says a Conservative cabinet minister, but Ottawa has contributed only a tenth the aid to this latest disaster.

International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda announced an additional $7.5 million in aid to flood-ravaged Pakistan on Tuesday after touring the devastated Central Asian country.

That brings the country's total government contributions to $40.5 million, making Canada the fourth highest donor to Pakistan's flood-relief efforts — but still far behind the two-year, $400-million pledge Canada made to Haitian earthquake relief.

"The need is certainly as large if not larger than Haiti," Oda said from Islamabad after flying over a flooded southern province. "I think we have two different circumstances here. We have an earthquake where people were able to see devastation and that was caused over a matter of seconds.

"This started with flash floods and is continuing," the minister added. "It's very hard for people to conceive of the impact and the continuing impact it's having."

Heavy rains that began in Pakistan in late July caused massive flooding that killed 1,700 people and has affected 21 million more.

The United Nations is seeking US$460 million to meet immediate relief needs and the International Monetary Funds predicts reconstruction costs will run into the billions.

Ottawa announced Sunday that it would extend by three weeks the deadline under which it will match donations by individuals to eligible registered charities, by contributing to the Pakistan Flood Relief Fund.

The government pledged $220 million to match private donations by ordinary Canadians following Haiti's Jan. 12 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people.

Critics have complained Canada's contributions to Pakistan's relief efforts trail those it made to Haitian relief after January's earthquake.

Oda did not directly address the disparity in aid relief between the Haiti and Pakistan disasters but, after flying over hundreds of flooded hectares of farmland, she stressed the need for immediate and continuing humanitarian aid.

Oda said Pakistan remains a strategically important country, sandwiched between India and Afghanistan, and was already facing serious and destabilizing poverty prior to the floods.

"It is a volatile country," she said. "It's important to see it not only as a humanitarian challenge but it is a challenge for the peace and stability of the region and the globe."

Oda noted that some militant groups, with links to the al-Qaida terrorist network, have been doling out aid and undermining Western relief efforts.

"It makes it our responsibility as an international community to make sure that we continue our support for the NGOs, the United Nations, the agencies that are working here to ensure that they are able to meet the challenges they are facing," Oda said.

"It is very, very daunting."

Oda said Pakistan will be addressed at a high-level meeting in New York next week during the United Nations summit on the Millennium Development Goals.

Canada's additional contribution will be used to support logistics and air transport capacity for the overall humanitarian response via the UN World Food Program. It includes approximately 25,000 shelter, kitchen and hygiene kits, including tarpaulins from CIDA's emergency relief stockpile.

The funding will benefit up to 7,000 families, said a government statement, and will be managed by the Canadian Red Cross.

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