The government of Pakistan's local and district-level capacity to
prepare and respond to disasters, such as last year's devastating
earthquake, will be bolstered by a generous financial contribution
from the American International Group Disaster Relief Fund (AIG
DRF).

The US$1,016,627.82 donation made possible by AIG and its
employees, will contribute to the establishment of rapid response
teams and support hubs in earthquake-affected areas of
Pakistan.

"IOM recognizes this generous financial contribution by AIG
employees to ease the suffering of those affected by the last
year's earthquake," said Hassan Abdel Moneim Mostafa, IOM Regional
Representative in Islamabad.  "IOM staff in Pakistan thank all
AIG employees for making a difference in our humanitarian
work.  This support is very timely and will save many lives in
the earthquake-affected areas of Pakistan."

According to a document on disaster management policies and
systems in Pakistan, the country lies in a seismic belt which
explains the frequent earthquakes.  Mountain ranges are
significantly vulnerable and the devastation can be immense because
of the poor quality of buildings.

The October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan's North West Frontier
Province and Pakistan-administered Kashmir claimed over 73,000
lives, severely wounded 70,000 people and left nearly 2.8 million
people homeless.

The funds will be used for a newly-designed project, which
complements the Early Recovery Plan of the government of Pakistan
and the UN.  It will focus on capacity building for provincial
governments and civil society in order to improve their ability to
monitor and quickly respond to earthquakes, as well as other
emergencies like landslides, severe storms, and floods in these
areas.

It will also provide training for local administrators to build
and strengthen local and district-level disaster preparedness and
response capacity.  The planned activities will include
dissemination of information to the population, monitoring of
critical areas, and communication links to the outside world.

With this new IOM initiative, professionally trained and fully
equipped local-level disaster preparedness teams will be in place
this winter to provide immediate response in case of
emergencies.

AIG DISASTER RELIEF FUND

The AIG Disaster Relief Fund (“DRF”) is a global
charitable organization that was formed by American International
Group, Inc. (“AIG”) to encourage a wide range of
philanthropic endeavours, including providing assistance to victims
of manmade and natural disaster and emergencies around the
world.  The DRF is funded by generous donations from AIG and
its employees, whose contributions are matched by AIG.

AIG and its employees around the world have a long-standing
tradition of responding in times of need, and are extremely proud
of the significant impact that their contributions have made in the
lives of communities affected by tragic events.  Since its
inception in 2003, the DRF has contributed over $9 million in aid
to emergency relief organizations in their mission to deliver food,
shelter, and medical relief to those who need it most.

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP, INC.
(AIG)

American International Group, Inc. (AIG), world leaders in
insurance and financial services, is the leading international
insurance organization with operations in more than 130 countries
and jurisdictions. AIG companies serve commercial, institutional
and individual customers through the most extensive worldwide
property-casualty and life insurance networks of any insurer. In
addition, AIG companies are leading providers of retirement
services, financial services and asset management around the world.
AIG's common stock is listed in the U.S. on the New York Stock
Exchange as well as the stock exchanges in London, Paris,
Switzerland and Tokyo.

For more information please contact:

Saleem Rehmat

IOM Pakistan

E-mail: "mailto:srehmat@iom.int">srehmat@iom.int