THE people of Pakistan are facing a public health catastrophe after the worst floods in living memory.

An area the size of England has been left underwater with 14 million people, including seven million children, affected – more than the combined total of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, 2005 Kashmir earthquake and 2010 Haiti earthquake.

The homes and livelihoods of some of the world’s poorest people have been washed away and now deadly waterborne diseases, such as cholera, threaten to compound the suffering.

Aid is getting through but there is still a massive amount of work to be done and the logistical challenges are huge because of the continuing rains. As part of the Disasters Emergency Committee, Oxfam is planning to reach more than 900,000 people with clean water, sanitation kits and hygiene supplies and other essential aid.

The British government has pledged £31million, while the public in the South West has already made a fantastic contribution. Our thanks go to everyone who has already made a donation.

But there needs to be a bigger and better response to this crisis. Donor funding is, unfortunately, low compared with other recent natural disasters.

The European Commission, for example, has only pledged 10 million euros ($12.8m), which is completely insufficient, given the scale of the disaster. The United Nations has estimated that a total of $460m is needed.

Why has this happened? It is possible that the relatively low number of deaths so far has made people feel that the disaster is not urgent.

But Oxfam and its partners cannot impress on people enough the scale of the devastation and the dangers of many more deaths if vital aid is not provided now. The situation will only improve when the world wakes up to the scale of the disaster.

To make a donation to the DEC Pakistan appeal call the 24 hour hotline on 0370 6060900, visit www.dec.org.uk or donate over the counter at any post office or high street bank.

You can also send a cheque made payable to DEC Pakistan Floods Appeal and send to PO Box 999, London, EC3A 3AA. You can also donate £5 by texting the word GIVE to 70707.

Christopher Brown, Oxfam South West Campaigns, Bristol.