In Pakistan's earthquake zone global relief has so far failed its test

doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7525.1151

BMJ 2005;331:1151 (12 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7525.1151

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In Pakistan's earthquake zone global relief has so far failed its test

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

At over 1.83 metres tall and a former soldier, I do not cryeasily, yet I am certainly crying now. The reason? Frustrationfollowing Pakistan's earthquake, perhaps the biggest disasterto strike this planet in my lifetime and something that theworld's largest aid effort seems powerless to relieve.

I am in the Neelam valley, east of Muzaffarabad, helping toestablish two small field hospitals. At the beginning the situationwas hopeless, with large numbers of disaster tourists and theircameras, each seeking the one image that could establish theircareers. Then there were the tedious meetings with aid agenciesfrom around the world. The answer was clear. The people neededaction, not discussion. Today I am in the little village ofPanjgiran, in the company of Ahmad, a respected local in thethroes of post-traumatic stress after losing his entire familyin the earthquake. It was at 8 . . . [Full text of this article]

Richard Villar, consultant orthopaedic surgeon

Wellington Hospital, London rvillar@uk-consultants.co.uk

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