United Nations (UN) goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie is urging aid donors to act quickly in order to save millions of people freezing to death in earthquake-ravaged Pakistan.
The Oscar-winning actress, who spoke out at a conference in the Asian country’s capital, Islamabad, on Friday, insisted Western countries must take immediate action if they are to stop more people dying in the aftermath of the Oct. 8 quake, which has killed 73,000 people.
She says, “There’s another disaster that could happen very soon. There’s so many wonderful pledges of money that could come in the next few years, but this winter is in the next few weeks.
“So many people are in danger of possibly freezing to death. It’s a huge situation … nobody sitting at home has any idea what this really looks like. It’s unbelievable.”
The UN says it has received $216 million for short-term emergency relief—only 39 percent of the amount it had appealed for—and desperately needs the rest before winter kicks in.
Relief official Jan Vandemoortele added, “The race to provide suitable shelter in time is not lost yet, but the consequences of failure, resulting from the lack of relief funds, could result in the deaths of vulnerable people.”
Donors promised Pakistan $6 billion but most of this will go towards helping with long-term reconstruction.
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