More Aid Heading to Pakistan; FDA Chief Calls for Preventative Powers

Pakistani flood victims stand in line for food in Sukkur on Monday. Photo by Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images.

The United Nations said Monday that it has now raised about 70 percent of the $460 million it needs to provide emergency relief to people affected by the floods in Pakistan. The International Monetary Fund is also set to start talks with Pakistani officials in Washington to assess how best to help.

Nearly 17 million people have been affected by the floods, with about 1,600 people killed and 6 million people homeless.

The BBC asks experts why donations “have been sluggish to the Pakistan floods appeals.” Two of several reasons cited: donor fatigue and corruption.

Reuters looks at what could emerge from the IMF meetings:

“The meetings are set to focus on the future of Pakistan’s $10.66 billion IMF programme agreed upon in 2008, which faced hiccups over meeting the fiscal deficit target even before the floods hit.”

Time’s Omar Waraich wonders, “Will Trying to Recover Push Pakistan Over the Edge?”:

“The accelerated fundraising will dim the roar of critics who alleged that the civilian government was described by many as “too corrupt” to be trusted by the world. But the additional heavy borrowing, while it comes interest-free, has spiked fears of a further deepening of Pakistan’s debt crisis. “

Meantime, in southern Pakistan, authorities are increasingly worried that 10 miles of new levees built to protect the cities Shadad Kot and Qambar may not protect them from the massive floods.

FDA Chief Says Agency Needs More Power

Food and Drug Administration chief Margaret Hamburg said Monday her agency is limited to a mostly reactive approach on food safety and argued that it needs a more “preventive approach.” Hamburg, appearing on several Monday morning news programs in the wake of the salmonella outbreak in eggs, also said Congress should pass pending legislation that would provide the FDA with greater enforcement power, including new authority over imported food.

Study: Katrina Has Lasting Effect on Children

Children who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina are nearly five times more likely than other kids to have severe emotional disturbances, and fewer than half of the children believed to need psychological help got it, says a study published Monday by the journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. At least 20,000 of those children still have serious emotional disorders or behavior problems, or don’t have a permanent home.