Aid workers in Pakistan have been hampered by a logistical nightmare the likes of which we have never seen, not even in the aftermath of the devastating tsunami, writes Jan Egeland.
Almost four weeks after a massive earthquake struck south Asia, the ranks of the dead, the homeless, the injured and the distraught continue to swell. The crisis is as urgent as it is desperate. The current death toll of more than 73,000 could double if emergency funding is not immediately forthcoming and aid rapidly delivered.
With a merciless Himalayan winter fast approaching, we are racing against time to save tens of thousands of lives in Pakistan. Together, we must do everything within our power not to lose this race.
Catastrophe looms on the horizon unless there is a massive and immediate increase in emergency aid within the next three weeks to prevent a second wave of deaths from disease and freezing conditions.
As best we know today, the quake has left three million people homeless in a harsh, high-altitude terrain. Up to two million people need urgent aid. More than 79,000 are estimated to have been injured.
All essential infrastructure has been destroyed in an area covering over 28,000sq km (10,800sq miles).
International relief efforts have been hampered by two factors: a critical lack of emergency funding and the immense difficulties involved in reaching all the quake survivors.
Aid workers in Pakistan have been hampered by a logistical nightmare the likes of which we have never seen, not even in the tsunami crisis.
A number of factors - the high altitude, mountainous terrain, the almost complete destruction of infrastructure in a huge swathe of territory, ongoing landslides and aftershocks, and a harsh winter just a matter of days away - have made this the toughest logistical challenge the international aid community has faced to date.
The enormity of the challenge underscores the need for good co-operation on the ground to ensure that scarce resources are utilised to best effect.
Second, and most critically, funds are urgently needed for emergency relief. In fact, these funds were needed yesterday. Every day of delay in providing funding translates into a potential death sentence for thousands of injured, hungry and homeless, particularly young children, who are most vulnerable to disease and exposure to cold.
The immediate needs on the ground remain enormous, prompting the UN to nearly double the amount of its original emergency appeal to $550 million.
I want to call on all European donor nations, the private sector and citizens from around the world to open their hearts and pocketbooks and to respond with the same generosity which was displayed in response to the tsunami appeal.
Ten days into the tsunami crisis, the UN had received 80 per cent of the required pledges. In Pakistan, by contrast, only 22 per cent of the UN's emergency appeal has been funded a month after the earthquake.
At a time when the world has never been richer, with more wealthy nations in Europe, Asia and Latin America than ever before, there can be no excuses for inaction.
We call on all donors - public and private - to urgently channel their contributions towards the UN's humanitarian appeal and to immediately convert all pledges into cash.
The UN appeal for quake victims is comprehensive in scope and accountable in operation.
Donors are assured of maximum transparency and global visibility through the UN's publicly-accessible website, which tracks all financial contributions made to the UN's humanitarian appeals. There is no excuse for our collective inaction.
We know what will happen if we do not act immediately with resources and resolve: thousands of people in Pakistan may soon die, and many more will suffer unnecessarily.
The world has the means and the money to save them. The question remains: do we have the will?
Jan Egeland is the United Nations under- secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief co-ordinator