It's a sadly typical story: Nearly 2 years after the Asian tsunami struck, aid to countries like Sri Lanka is being handicapped by undelivered funds. The numbers are more shocking than usual, however:

• Only 30 to 35 percent of the affected population has been put back into permanent housing.
• Only half of the 6.7 billion pledged by the U.N. Department for Aid and Development has been spent.
• Only 8,000 of the 50,000 permanent houses that the Red Cross promised to build in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives have been completed.
• A whopping 16 houses have been completed by the British Red Cross, of the 2,000 planned. Three hundred are near completion.

Pledges by countries are falling far below the mark:

• According to a U.N. database, Spain promised $60m and delivered less than $1m, while France pledged $79m and came up with just over $1m.
• Kuwait pledged $10m to the Maldives, but has yet to contribute a penny.
• The United States promised over $400m in aid to Indonesia, but has delivered less than $70m.
• Perhaps most disappointing of all is China, which pledged $301m and delivered only $1m.