UN warns against shifting quake focus in Pakistan

The UN's top relief official in Pakistan urged donors and the international community against neglecting the basic needs of 3.5 million people affected by the October 8 earthquake.

"It is important to start building new hospitals and schools as soon as possible but it's most urgent to save the lives of thousands of children who could then make use of these schools," Jan Vandemoortele, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Pakistan, said in a statement.

The powerful quake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale killed more than 73,000 people in northwestern Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir and made 3.5 million others homeless.

Donors at an international conference in Islamabad on Saturday pledged 5.8 billion dollars for reconstruction and rehabilitation.

But an initial appeal for 550 million dollars launched by the UN and humanitarian agencies to help quake survivors with immediate needs received less than half this amount.