Global Tsunami Aid Approaches $2 Billion as Annan Eyes Jakarta Visit

United Nations officials said Saturday that international donations for tsunami survivors across Asia are nearing $2 billion, with Japan's $500 million pledge representing the largest single contribution. A possible trip by Secretary General Kofi Annan to Jakarta could be confirmed as early as Sunday, coinciding with a major donor conference planned for Thursday under ASEAN auspices.

Jan Egeland, the UN's top emergency relief coordinator, warned that destroyed airstrips and fuel shortages are severely slowing the delivery of supplies across hard-hit areas including Banda Aceh, northern Sumatra, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. He estimated the death toll above 150,000, cautioning that the true number will remain unknown because many victims were swept out to sea. Over 1.7 million people in Indonesia and Sri Lanka alone face months of food shortages.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in January 2005, in its own words.