23 November 2005

Bonn, Germany: The Government of Germany has contributed US $1 million to support the contribution of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in the recovery and rehabilitation of communities in Pakistan following the 8 October earthquake.

The contribution fulfils UNV’s component of the United Nations flash appeal launched on 11 October.

The funds will enable UNV, through the mobilization of Pakistani and international UN Volunteers, to assist the Government of Pakistan and UN agencies, such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in immediate relief and longer-term recovery activities. Support to civil society organizations and other volunteer-involving organizations engaged in the post-earthquake period is also planned to strengthen their capacity in light of the disaster’s magnitude.

Beyond the response phase, UNV will work with the government and other national partners in the creation of community-level disaster preparedness plans to lessen the impact of possible future disasters. UNV has many years of experience in supporting countries in the development of disaster mitigation programmes that incorporate the value of volunteerism in helping carry forward people-centred preparedness initiatives in communities.

In a similar development, the Government of Pakistan today officially launched the National Volunteer Movement to provide Pakistani citizens the opportunity to help address victims’ immediate needs as well as to assist in the reconstruction phase. Speaking at the ceremony in Islamabad were Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, and the chairperson of the volunteer movement, Muhammad Ali Durrani.

UNDP and UNV collaborated with the government in the creation of the volunteer movement that, once the emergency phase is completed, is expected to focus on disaster preparedness. UNV plans to mobilize UN Volunteers to help the volunteer movement in the initial start-up phase.

At an international donor conference held in Pakistan on 19 November, US $5.4 billion was pledged to assist the government in longer-term recovery operations. Representatives at the Islamabad meeting urged donors to disburse the funds immediately and provide flexibility with the contributions, as tens of thousands of earthquake survivors remain homeless.