MILLIONS SAVED

Chronicle (Levin), 1 July 1946, Page 3

MILLIONS SAVED

-Press Aasocialion

UNCOURAGING REPORT ON UNRRA's WORK

Bjj Tcleyravh-

A UCK LAN D, hui: 30. AUIiougli there muy ix: stuull isolaleJ puekets oi' uctual starvatiou in Uurope utitj soinc uialmitritiou iu eities lliis year, it is apparent tliat teus of nnllious oi' lives will have been siived, aeeording to seuior Doputy Director Uoueral oi I'urra, Cominandor (>S ) K. (5. A. Jackson, C.M.U., O.B.K.. R.N., wlio urrivod ou Ihe clippcr Lighlfoot i'rom Sun Franeisco ou Saturday. That position had been achieved by ihe generosily oi utiinvadod meiubcrs oi United .Nalions aud Ihe supreme ell'orts niude. by Ihe war ravagod couulries lo liclp theniselvos. The coneept oi Unrra was quick aid ou a broad scale, as an einergeney measure, aaid U'onunauder Jackson. The slrategy oi reliei was desigued to ensuro ihat starvatiou was avoided in thc iinmediate postwar period. in spile oi the extraordinarily diflicult world lood crisis, tliere was still quilo good reason to hope that success in tliat sense would be achieved iu Europe lliis year. L'ufortunatoly iu the Kar Easl it had not beeu possibie to achieve tlie Europeau success, added Conuuander Jackson. Iu India aud Uhiua it had been au earlier problem. The disruptios caused in China by 13 years of wai", was so great tliat some starvatiou would l>e inevitable. Everything possibie was being done to see tliat the maxinium food went to those countries. Direet aid must at some stage come to an end and tlie countries reeeiving lielp must stand on tlieir owri .t'eet, remarked Coiumandei' Jackson. Tliere

would be continuing ueed in some countries l'or somo time to come but iuture planning was designed to ensure that v\ hile iurther aid was given at the earliest i»ossible moment, thoae countries shouid regain their feet independently. Unrra had been giving assistance to displaced persons in Germany and Austria and other countries but the transfer oi that responsibility to a permanent ugeiicy was being planned. It would presuinably be discussed again at the (lcneraJ Assembly of United Is'ations Organisation iu Keptember. It was iinperative that it shouid be established with out. iurther delay and at all costs. A break in the continuity of care given refugees shouid l>e avoided. There was need ior special care of children witliout their parents. Uurra also lioped that a permanent agency of Gnited Nations would be set up to earry on its weli'aro work, particularly health serviccs. There was great need for United Xatious to establisli througliout the world not only in Unrra reeeiving countries, a ehiJd feeding programme so that all childreu irrespective of their

countries' ability to pay, shouid be ■ properly uourished. Countries like N ew ■ Zealand Avould not need it but the fact tliat other countries might not liave" nionev to conduct their owii scliemes, sliould not stand in the way of the matter being handled on a world basis. ! Unrra had proved that an organisation i composed of over -40 nations carrying , out an exceedingly large operation, | could succeed irrespective of the nat- j ' ionalities of its stuff. That was the verv encouraging xesult of Unrra, United Nations ' iirst experiment. It i had been achieved. against an extra- ; ordinary world background in a period j of extremelv difficult lahour conditions | in practically every country of the world, _ '