UN needs $543 million to assist displaced persons
The News
Jun 5, 2009
ISLAMABAD: The international community and donors must provide $543 million for relief and early recovery assistance to the internally displaced persons from the NWFP till the end of 2009. So far, $119 million have been contributed to the Humanitarian Response Plan, with an additional $21 million pledged by the donors, but not yet received by Pakistan.
This was revealed in a press briefing organised by the United Nations Office for the Coordination and Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) here on Thursday.
Addressing media persons, OCHA Country Head in Pakistan Manuel Bessler said that while some two million people displaced from Pakistan’s northwest areas urgently needed assistance with food, clean water, shelter and emergency health care, the Humanitarian Response Plan received only 22 per cent of the funding. “Some sectors have already indicated that supplies such as food and essential medicines may not be sustainable beyond early July unless the international community rapidly and generously responds to these acute needs,” warned Bessler.
Speaking on the occasion, Unicef representative Martin Mogwanja said that the Water and Sanitation (Wash) partner organisations were scaling up their assistance to these communities, for example, by installing hand pumps and distributing hygiene kits and household water storage vessels. He said that the risk of communicable diseases spreading was also exacerbated by the crowded conditions, contaminated water, inadequate sanitation and poor nutrition.
“With the monsoon season approaching, health organisations are expressing concerns over the possibility of increased acute respiratory infections, cases of diarrhoea, malaria and meningitis,” he said.
APP adds: Meanwhile, a Turkish military aircraft, carrying 10 tonnes of food items, kitchen utensils, hygiene kits and biscuits, as continued support for displaced persons, landed at the Chaklala Military Airbase on Thursday.
The relief goods dispatched by the TRC were handed over to the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS), which is actively involved in providing assistance to the IDPs by setting up camps and delivering of relief goods.
Also, the ActionAid, a non governmental organisation, in its first phase of response, provided food, non-food items, health and hygiene kits to over 6,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) living with host families in the Swabi district. “In the next phase around 3,000 households (19,000 IDPs) will be provided similar support,” said Javeria Malik, ActionAid’s communications coordinator on Thursday.
