Geneva, Aug 9
About £60m is needed by the end of next month if the United Nations aid programme for the seven million East Pakistan refugees in India is to be maintained at its present level. The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said this today in issuing an urgent appeal to governments and voluntary bodies.

The total contributed through the United Nations since the programme began on May 19 is some £40m in cash and kind, of which 70 percent has been given by the United States Government. Forty-five other countries have contributed, the British Government’s share being £3m.

Relief sent direct to India and not channelled through the United Nations amount to £30m. Rice worth £5m has been sent by the Soviet Union and £5m in cash and kind has been provided by British voluntary agencies.

“The facts are being put before the governments so that they may realize the urgency of the situation”, an official of the High Commissioner’s office said. He declined to estimate what the prospects were of the £60m needed becoming available in time to prevent a drastic cut in the refugees' daily ration.

The ration now consists of 300 grams of rice, 200 gr wheat. 100 gr pulses, 25 gr cooking oil and 20 gr salt. This is equivalent to about 2,000 calories—considerably more than Palestine refugees receive from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, and above the general nutritional level in East Bengal itself.

The official said there was “considerable worry about several hundred thousand children in the area, but it is not yet a situation where one can speak of a great tragedy. Measures can be taken to avoid a serious deterioration.”

There were about 800 milk stations and a similar number of supplementary feeding centres would be opened. The Indian Government was organizing 1,000 medical teams, of which 200 were being recruited among the refugees themselves.

A big problem was transport. The first seaborne food cargoes were only now reaching India.