United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday said that the Pakistani floods that have displaced 20 million people were unprecedented and need "unprecedented" assistance from the world community, dpa reported.
"In the past I have visited many natural disasters around the world but nothing like this," Ban told reporters in the capital Islamabad after an aerial view of the affected areas and visit of a relief camp in the central Pakistan. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari accompanied him in the press conference.
"The scale of this disaster is so large, so many people at so many places in so much need. One out of 10 Pakistanis is affected - One fifth of the country is ravaged by the floods," Ban said, urging the world to step up assistance to Pakistan.
The UN has appealed for 460 million dollars to assist millions of refugees displaced by floods that have killed about 1,400 people. But international response has been slow.
Donors have pledged barely 20 per cent of the funds that the UN says are required to supply food, shelter, medicine and clean water to the 6 million people in immediate need.