Jolie pitches for more aid to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. actress and U.N. Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie called on the public to step up its financial support for Pakistani flood victims.

"This is not just a humanitarian crisis, it is an economic and social catastrophe," Jolie said in a public service announcement seeking a greater financial response.

Jolie, who serves as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, also stressed in her video message the sheer scope of the disaster, which left a fifth of Pakistan underwater and affected an estimated 17 million people, the United Nations said in a release Tuesday.

"The more support we can give, the greater number of tents, food, clean water and medicine will get to the people in need," said Jolie, who donated $100,000 to the U.N. refugee agency for its Pakistani flood relief work.

The $460 million sought by the United Nations and its humanitarian partners in the initial response plan for Pakistan is about 63 percent covered, the United Nations said. So far, $291 million in funds has been received and $20 million more has been pledged.