Clinton to Boost Aid Pledge at UN Meeting on Pakistan

18 August 2010

A Pakistani boy shouts to attract attention from a man handing out relief goods at a camp flood victims in Muzaffargarh, Punjab province, Pakistan, 18 Aug 2010

The United States has already committed about $90 million dollars in relief aid and millions of dollars more of in-kind aid provided by the U.S. military, including helicopter rescue operations and air transport.

Senior officials said Clinton will announce a sizeable further increase at the special General Assembly session, which they said they hope will stimulate wider participation in the relief effort by governments, businesses and private citizens.

Efforts to generate private contributions for Pakistani flood relief, through vehicles such as cell phone e-mail pledges, have lagged behind efforts for other recent natural disasters like the January earthquake in Haiti.

In announcing Clinton's participation in the U.N. meeting, State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley attributed the relative shortfall to the fact that the magnitude of the Pakistani flood disaster, and its long-term implications, are only now becoming apparent.

"There's a qualitative difference to this disaster," said Crowley. "And much of it is because it's still raining in Pakistan. The floods are expanding in Pakistan. And in the coming days, I think you will see the response pick up as people understand the magnitude of this. You have an unfolding immediate disaster. But then you have, a long-term recovery that will be vitally important."