The international response has been slow to an appeal for emergency funds to help the millions of people hit by last month's earthquake in Nepal, AP cited a U.N. official as saying Friday. Jamie McGoldrick, the U.N.'s chief official in Nepal, said the agency had received $22 million so far against an appeal last week for $ 415 million to support relief efforts for the first three months in the Himalayan nation. "This needs to be dramatically ramped up," McGoldrick told reporters in the Nepalese capital. The April 25 earthquake killed more than 7,800 people and injured thousands more. The government figures show that tens of thousands of houses have been demolished and assistance is immediately needed for 400,000 families. The U.N. estimates that as many as eight million people have been affected by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake.
