Hollywood star and refugee advocate Angelina Jolie appealed Friday for the swift delivery of promised aid to Pakistan, saying a new disaster threatens earthquake survivors when winter hits devastated mountain areas.
Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, spoke a day after touring quake-devastated areas with actor Brad Pitt. A donor conference last week raised international aid pledges to $5.8 billion.
"The pledges that were made need to materialize soon, because from what I'm understanding, there are so many wonderful pledges of money that could come in the next few years - but this winter is in the next few weeks, and so many people are in danger of possibly freezing to death," Jolie told a news conference in Pakistan's capital.
"There's another disaster that could happen very soon," she said.
The top U.N. official coordinating the relief effort, Jan Vandemoortele, also called for millions of dollars in urgent donations to help get survivors through the winter with food, shelter and health care, saying that the United Nations and other agencies had received less than half of the $550 million they asked for in a recent appeal.
"It is important to start building new hospitals and schools as soon as possible but it's most urgent to save the lives of thousands of children who could then make use of these schools," Vandemoortele said. "We urgently need extra millions of dollars to reach the earthquake survivors and other vulnerable victims, especially before the winter sets in."
On Thursday, Jolie and Pitt made an unannounced visit to a town that was largely destroyed, a tent camp for homeless survivors and a high mountain valley that was hit by the Oct. 8 quake, which killed an estimated 86,000 people and destroyed the homes of more than 3 million in Pakistan.
"These people there have not been given a lot of aid," Jolie said of the valley, where UNHCR officials said she traveled aboard a helicopter that brought food, blankets and plastic sheets to improve shelters. "They're very far out and they're very concerned about the winter coming."
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