UN FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS VISITS PAKISTAN

 

ISLAMABAD, 20 December (UNFIP) -- During a visit by its Board of Directors to Pakistan, the United Nations Foundation reaffirmed its commitment to mobilizing support from the corporate sector, private donors, and the Pakistani diaspora community in support of the United Nations’ earthquake relief and rehabilitation efforts.

Building on its initial contribution of $1 million towards UN earthquake relief initiatives, the UN Foundation established the South Asia Earthquake Response Fund to enable private sector donors to support the United Nations’ relief and rehabilitation efforts.  The UN Foundation, in close coordination with its UN counterpart, the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP), has already raised over $400,000 from individuals and partners for the Fund and is continuing to mobilize support for the United Nations’ vital work.

“The victims of this disaster have turned to the UN and the international community in their time of need, and we can’t let them down”, said Ted Turner, Founder and Chairman of the UN Foundation.  “Each of us can make a difference in the lives of those who have lost so much.”

From 17 to 20 December 2005, the UN Foundation Board of Directors visited Pakistan to meet with government leaders, including President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, as well as United States Ambassador to Pakistan Ryan Crocker, the National Commission on Human Development and UN representatives.

"We are delighted about the visit by Mr. Turner and Board members of the UN Foundation.  Apart from their valuable and timely financial support, the visit helps keep the eyes of the world focused on the urgent needs of the survivors", said UN Humanitarian Coordinator Jan Vandemoortele.  "Media attention is essential to ensure that the earthquake does not become a forgotten tragedy at a time when the affected people face a difficult winter", Mr. Vandemoortele added.

The UN Foundation also received a briefing from the Federal Relief Commission, visited several sites in the earthquake-affected areas, including Chakoti and Muzaffarabad, and met with earthquake survivors.  “Seeing how much progress has been made in the face of this disaster has made me proud to be a human being”, said Mr. Turner to a gathering at the Thori camp in Muzaffarabad.  Nafis Sadik, UN Foundation Board member and Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General, said, “I was really sad and devastated to see the destruction, but felt proud as a Pakistani to see how the Government, military, NGOs, the UN, and the international community are working together to rebuild Pakistan.”

In addition to its earthquake relief activities, the UN Foundation has also mobilized significant funds for polio eradication efforts in Pakistan, in partnership with the Gates Foundation, Rotary International, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO).  Together, the partners are providing $45 million to enable the Pakistani Government to undertake, with key United Nations agencies, a 2006 campaign to eradicate polio.  Other Board members participating in the trip included:  Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General Emeritus, WHO; former United States Senator Timothy E. Wirth, President of the United Nations Foundation; and Muhammad Yunus, Founder, Grameen Bank.  “Visits like this, which give Board members a first-hand view of the projects on the ground, further strengthen the unique partnership between the United Nations and the UN Foundation”, said Amir Dossal, UNFIP Executive Director, who also accompanied the Board members.

Background

The UN Foundation was created in 1998 with businessman and philanthropist Ted Turner’s historic $1 billion gift to support United Nations’ causes.  The UN Foundation promotes a more peaceful, prosperous, and just world through the support of the United Nations.  Through its grant-making and by building new and innovative public-private partnerships, the UN Foundation acts to meet the most pressing health, humanitarian, socio-economic, and environmental challenges of the twenty-first century.

The UNFIP promotes new United Nations partnerships and alliances worldwide.  Established by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in March 1998, UNFIP is an autonomous trust fund set up to serve as the interface between the United Nations system and the United Nations Foundation, the public charity responsible for administering, Ted Turner’s $1 billion contribution in support of United Nations causes.  Over the years, UNFIP has expanded its functions to provide a “one-stop” service for partnership opportunities with the UN family. 

For more information contact:  Elizabeth Alexander/Amy Di Elsi, tel.:  (202) 887-9040, e-mail:  ealexander@unfoundation.org or adielsi@unfoundation.org at the UN Foundation; or Camilla Schippa, Outreach Officer, e-mail:  schippa@un.org; or tel.:  (212) 963-3441 at UNFIP.

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For information media • not an official record