The Wire

This year has been characterized by an unusually high number of natural disasters – Asian Tsunami South Asian Earthquake and Hurricanes in north and Central America, you name it, we’ve watched it on TV. And While we may have had warm and fuzzy feelings about how generously we have donated to appeals associated with these disasters, a new report suggests that many more disasters have gone unnoticed and unassisted. Oxfam International has released a survey which claims that UN appeals for disasters occurring Africa and Central and South America have largely fallen on deaf ears, while disasters like the Asian Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina have dominated the media. To solve this Oxfam wants Australia and other governments around the world to contribute $1billion each year to the UN’s Central Emergency Revolving Fund. This fund is due to be the subject of review by the UN General Assembly next month. Erica Vowles spoke earlier today with the Executive Director of Oxfam Australia, Andrew Hewett, about how the west has responded to disasters in 2005.