Factbox: Major Donor Conferences

In recent years, the global community has struggled to respond to numerous natural and manmade disasters. Below is a timeline of major international assistance conferences in 2003-05.

26 October 2005 -- Representatives from major donor nations met in Geneva, Switzerland for a United Nations aid conference for survivors of Pakistan's 8 October earthquake. Governments and other donors pledged some $580 million for quake relief efforts, but the UN expressed concern that only $111 million was earmarked for urgent UN efforts aimed at helping provide emergency food and shelter for 3 million quake victims before the onset of winter.


11-12 April 2005 -- Norway hosts a donors conference for Sudan in the capital Oslo. Donors from more than 60 countries and organizations pledged $4.5 million to help implement the terms of a landmark peace agreement ending the country's 21-year civil war. But calls for $2.6 billion in external support for a 2.5-year overall support plan fell short by $1 billion.


18 March 2005 -- 28 countries participate in a conference in the Philippine capital Manila on providing long-term reconstruction aid for countries affected by the Asian tsunami. The Asian Development Bank committed grants totalling $300 million, adding to its inital contribution of $600 million.


18 January 2005 -- The United Nations hosts tsunami conference in Japan. Led by Japan, Germany, and Australia, nations pledged more than $5 billion to aid survivors, particularly in Indonesia and Sri Lanka.


31 March - 1 April 2004 -- Representatives from 65 governments and organizations gather in Berlin to pledge money for the reconstruction of postwar Afghanistan. Donors promise $4.4 billion for the coming year and $8.2 billion for the next three years to support Kabul's efforts to become a secure and democratic state.


23-24 October 2003 -- Governments and international agencies pledge some $37.5 billion in aid to help rebuild war-ravaged Iraq. This fell short of the $56 billion the United Nations and World Bank said Iraq needed for a four-year reconstruction plan. But the conference was generally praised as a "qualified success."