INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY: Rich countries must adopt vital reforms or risk failing tsunami victims, a leading aid agency has warned.
A new briefing paper from Oxfam argued that three weeks after the disaster, much more still needed to be done on aid, debt and trade.
Ms Bernice Romero, Oxfam's international advocacy director, said: "In the immediate aftermath of the tsunami, the public and governments responded admirably. Pledges were made and the world focused on the disaster.
"Three weeks on, rich country governments sadly appear to be dragging their feet on vital trade and debt reforms to help relieve poverty in the long-term."
On aid, despite the magnificent public response and generous pledges, the UN humanitarian appeal that governments fund was still 26 per cent under-funded, Oxfam said.
The charity called on donor governments to fund the appeal fully and deliver money quickly, as, in the past, funds had been pledged and not materialised.
On debt, some rich countries, rather than agreeing to cancel significant proportions of debt, had chosen the easy option of a temporary suspension of repayments, which would then be reapplied in a few months, it said.
This temporary rescheduling of payments meant that it was likely interest would continue to be charged and the debt repayments would have grown when the tsunami-hit countries had to start paying back the loans.
The organisation called for governments to do an urgent assessment of what level of debt was now sustainable for each indebted tsunami-affected country and to cancel the remainder.
Despite some early positive noises, Oxfam added, US tariff barriers to textile and clothing exports from tsunami-affected countries remained in place. The EU is expected to make an announcement on tariffs next week which will be closely monitored.
Oxfam has also called on the EU and the US to remove tariff barriers. Mr Raymond Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America, in a letter to US Trade Representative Mr Robert Zoellick, said: "Trade has a crucial part to play in the recovery and reconstruction of the region and has the potential to help millions of people affected by this tragedy." - PA