UNRRA'S DISBANDING MEANS FOOD CRISIS

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5298, 10 January 1947, Page 5

UNRRA'S DISBANDING MEANS FOOD CRISIS

(Press Assn.-

— — O GAP BEFORE HARVEST ARBITRARY P0L1TICAL DESTRUCTI0N 1

-Rec. 9.80 p.m.)

LONDON, Jan. 9. "The arbitrary political destruction of Unrra on December 31, 1946, in the middle of winter and with no effective replacement, will mean a food and economic crisis in the second quarter of 1947 in most countries dependent on Unrra aid," said Commander R. G. A. Jackson, deputy-director-general, revicwing the winding up of the organisation. The three months' gap between the termination of Unrra food supplies and the gathering of the inadequate indigenc-us harvests would not necessarily mean starvation, hut it would mean widespread malnutrition. He believed Unrra's operation had been an extraordinarily good one. It failed in only one respect — it had not won the support of the peoples of tTe contributing countries or "got over" to them the urgency of the situation. It was given & bad name in 1944-45 which it never lived down. No Successor The end of Unrra was a very good Iwson that international organisations had no hope of surviving with-c.-ut public support, particularly that of the United States. Commander Jackson warned that if something wero not done at once there was a chance that the countries receiving Unrra aid would slip baclc ti- where they were 18 months ago. "We see no signs of the United Nations or national bodies succeeding Unrra cc-ming to life and carrving on Unrra's work," he said. The contributing countries had sunk more than '*700,000,000 in Unrra but had a good chance of losing the capital investment for the sake of another £100,000,000 or £200,000,000, Sir Humfrey Gale, personal representative of the director-general of Unrra in London, disclosed that 1 )> January 1 Unrra had shipped more than 19,000,000 tons of relief' supnlies valued at £570,000,000 and achieved 78 per cont of the Adminisiration's original programme. Supplies valued at £165,000.000 rem ined to he shipped oarly this year. Tbe United Nations bad met "3.8 per cent of their contributions to Unrra. Sir Humfrey said food shipments w uld ease hefore the agricultural rohabilitation of the occupied countries was completed. It was vi'a.lly important that the remaining 22 per cent of Unrra's programme should be completed if Unrra was to succecd in its rehabilitation function. Food Situation Critical The food situatio-n in many couni i'ies remained most alarming. The situation was very bad in Austria, Alhania, China, Greece, Italy, and Vugoslavia. Unrra was to hand over rcsnonsihility for" 710,000 displaced peisons which it as present Avas assriting, to the International Refugees Organisation by Junc, 1947. Howovor, there was no sign yot of this organisation, the headquarters o-f which. were to he estahlished in Paris. It was imperative that it should hegin work soon in order to avoid any hiatus. Sir Humfrey said 40 per cent of the remaining supplies, valued at £80,000.000,. would be delivered to China up till August. The programme for China so far was only half completed. Pc-or internal communications were hampering distrihution.