Western nations lauded for their generosity following the south-east Asian tsunami disaster are failing to honour pledges of aid, leaving shortfalls of millions of rands in the recovery programme.
Despite the huge response by international governments when the tidal wave hit on Boxing Day, the United Nations humanitarian appeal is still underfunded by a third, with just $723-million (R4,3-billion) received out of a total of nearly $1-billion (R6,04-billion) originally demanded and pledged.
According to an Oxfam report to be published this week, donations have followed the same pattern as pledges to other recent disasters such as the Bam earthquake in Iran and Hurricane Mitch in Central America, where initial promises were not honoured.
The report will also attack Western governments for refusing to push ahead with debt and trade reforms that would free reconstruction money for the region
It will be particularly critical of the debt-relief deal hammered out by British Chancellor Gordon Brown with other members of the Paris Club of creditor nations, which suspended repayments rather than wiping out debt. There are concerns that interest payments will continue and the debts will have grown when the moratorium ends.
Oxfam is demanding a full assessment of the level of debt sustainable for each country hit by the tsunami. It will also demand reform to trade tariffs from Europe and the United States on textile and clothing from the affected region.
Bernice Romero, Oxfam International advocacy director, said: ‘In the immediate aftermath the public and governments responded admirably. Pledges were made and the world focused on the disaster. Rich-country governments sadly appear to be dragging their feet on vital trade and debt reforms to help relieve poverty in the long term.
”The world must not let the spotlight shift away from the devastation caused by the tsunami until rich countries have done all that they can to help victims for the long term. So far they haven’t made the tough choices needed to bring fundamental change.”
A World Bank official in New York said: ”It’s all very well that a freeze on debt repayments has been agreed, but countries will be hit by repayments as soon as the moratorium ends.”
The official confirmed that wealthy countries are likely to fall short of the $1-billion demanded by the United Nations.
Meanwhile, the European Commission is expected to say it will lift tariffs on clothing exports from poor countries hit by the tsunami. Sri Lanka and Indonesia paid more than $900-million (R5,4-billion) on goods sold to the US and European Union last year — almost equivalent to the aid promised by wealthy countries.
The generosity of the British in the wake of the crisis has also been called into question by figures comparing the charity of private donors around the world.
Per capita figures compiled by Reuters and UN agencies from the first 15 days of the disaster show that the people of Norway contributed most, averaging R79 for every man, woman and child. The Swedes raised an average figure of R71, while the British contributed on average R18.
United Kingdom donations have now topped £200-million (R2,2-billion) and the average donation per person has moved closer to R39, but it is still behind many other Western nations.
While Mark Astarita, director of fund-raising at the British Red Cross, insists ”we have one of the most vibrant voluntary sectors in the world”, the Giving Campaign has calculated that voluntary donation fell from 1,2% to 0,9% of Britain’s gross domestic product between 1992 and 2002. — Guardian Unlimited