Angelina Jolie meets Pakistan flood victims

Angelina Jolie has met flood victims in northwestern Pakistan and appealed to the international community to provide aid needed to help the country recover from its worst natural disaster.

The flow of aid money has stalled in recent days, and officials expressed hope that the star's two-day visit will convince foreign countries and individuals to open their wallets.

Jolie, who serves as a 'goodwill ambassador' for the United Nations, told reporters: "Here we're in a situation where these people are displaced from the conflict, from the wars so there are many different parts to the needs in Pakistan."

The 35-year-old actress said she met with many people whose lives have been devastated by the floods, including mothers who lost their children and an elderly Pakistani couple who feared they would never be able to rebuild the home they lost.

She toured the area wearing a long black robe and a black headscarf adorned with a thin red stripe, the kind of conservative clothing worn by many Muslim women in Pakistan.

The floods began in the northwest at the end of July after extremely heavy monsoon rains and slowly surged south along the Indus River, swallowing up hundreds of villages and towns and killing more than 1,700 people.

Another 17 million have been affected by the floods, and many will need emergency assistance to survive.

"There is general statement to ask for people to assist," Jolie told reporters, "but I think there is something much bigger going on here and these kind of conflicts that continue to happen".

"These are very, very long extended situations that need our constant support for a very, very long time," she added.

The United Nations issued an appeal for $460 million dollars in emergency funds on 11 August, but only $294 million, or 64 per cent, has been received so far, with donations more or less drying up in recent days.