Chowrangi

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has opened three new camps in Pakistan to house an ongoing flow of families fleeing the fighting in north-west Pakistan, but lack of funding is hampering the world body’s ability to assist displaced persons. The newly-arrived displaced persons came from Lower Dir, Swat and Buner, in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), where the Pakistani army has been clashing with militants.

A UN appeal for $543 million to support the displaced persons, launched 22 May, is about 25 per cent funded, it said. Because of the shortfall, food supplies are secure only for June while drugs supplies will be depleted by the end of the month. Funding is also urgently needed to cover health needs for the next six months, according to OCHA, with there being a shortage of hygiene kits and soap in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs).

The number of people displaced by the conflict in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province has risen above 2.5 million, and a shortage of funds could cut relief services there.The Emergency Response Unit (ERU) of the NWFP government has recorded 265,122 IDPs living in 21 camps run by the government with support from the UNHCR.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA), for its part, has begun psycho-social support for women in camps of four districts – Lower Dir, Peshawar, Nowshera and Charsadda – through individual counselling and focus group discussions. The agency is also conducting general health, hygiene awareness and reproductive health sessions.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is supporting 29 child-friendly spaces, engaging children in different learning, creative and recreational activities in 13 IDP camps. In my previous articles about the crisis I had repeatedly emphasized that there is a need to channelize international aid and government must ensure transparency of the distribution process. The efforts of UN and its organizations are highly praiseworthy.

Image: DayLife

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