World Bank Grants $1Billion More Humanitarian Aid To Pak/IMF to give Pakistan $450Mill in flood aid

[Turborama]

Source: AHN/Reuters

Islamabad, Pakistan (AHN) - The World Bank on Thursday pledged to grant $1 billion to Pakistan as humanitarian aid for its flood victims. Previously, the bank had offered $900 million.

The announcement came following a meeting between World Bank Group President Robert B Zoellick and Pakistan's Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh in Washington.

"As the surging Indus River devastates Pakistan, the country needs the world's support to meet urgent humanitarian needs: food, clean water, sanitation facilities, medical and nutritional supplies, and vaccines," Zoellick said. He also stressed the need to provide long-term support for Pakistan’s recovery and reconstruction from the worst floods in history.

The bank will draw the money from the International Development Association, which provides loans without any interest payments as concessions to the poorest countries.

Read more: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7019775537?World%20Bank%20Grants%20$1%20Billion%20More%20Humanitarian%20Aid%20To%20Pakistan

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IMF to give Pakistan $450 mln in flood aid

WASHINGTON | Thu Sep 2, 2010 12:06pm EDT

(Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund will give Pakistan $450 million in emergency flood aid and disburse funds during September, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Thursday.

Severe flooding in Pakistan has destroyed cropland and livestock and displaced millions of people, causing damage the government has estimated at $43 billion, or almost one quarter of the South Asian nation's 2009 GDP.

"The IMF ... will be the first agency likely to disperse very rapidly money which is absolutely needed," he told reporters after a week of discussions with Pakistani officials. "The most important thing is to keep the Pakistani economy .. on track."

Talks with a delegation led by Pakistan's Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on the terms of an $11 billion IMF loan program left him satisfied with the country's commitment to reforms, the IMF chief said.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6813VP20100902

[OhioChick]

1. Good. These people are in dire straits. n/t

[SpeechlessDem]

2. Not Good News.. Bad News!

Sorry guys this is bad news
This is why Haiti is so poor

Do you guys know what the IMF and World Bank does to get this money back?
These are loans and nothing more.

More people will suffer because of these loans.

For example in Ghana the world bank/IMF told ghana "you can't pay? fine!, but you have to proove to use that you are doing what you can to pay us back, so ahead and increase the price of energy" and what happens here is more people don't have electricity.

That's their business Model, they further countries down into debt more and more.

[florida08]

3. absolutely

it's not a free charitable contribution it's a noose around the countries neck. All anyone has to do is google what the IMF has done to Jamaica

[ProSense]

4. What's your suggestion?

Let the people of Pakistan suffer, drown or die of starvation?

Is cynicism going to save them?

[sabrina 1]

5. I agree about the IMF. I wish they did not have to accept this

loan. Maybe if the world had stepped forward as they have for other disasters, it would not have been necessary.

But the lack of interest in this incredible disaster has been nothing short of stunning.

With people facing death from starvation, desease and dehydration, what can they do but accept it?

Disaster Capitalism at work. I hope enough funds come from other sources so that they can pay this back before they become slaves to the IMF as so many other countries have.

Millions are affected, the death toll could start climbing as people are unable to get necessary life saving help.