As Temperatures Begin To Drop, UN Distributes Additional Aid To Displaced Pakistanis
New York, Nov 24 2009 11:10AM The United Nations refugee agency has begun distributing additional relief supplies to
civilians displaced by the ongoing military operations in north-west Pakistan to help them cope as temperatures begin to
drop in the region.
The first phase of the winterization drive carried out by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) started on
Monday in Jalozai camp, near Peshawar in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).
Some 85,000 people, or 13,600 families, are expected to benefit from the additional aid, which will continue to be
distributed in eight camps until 28 November.
More than 82,000 blankets, 37,000 plastic sheets and some 55,000 sleeping mats will be distributed this week in several
camps including in Jalozai, Jalala, Benazir complex, Wali Kandow, and Palosa in NWFP.
According to UNHCR, there are currently more than 100,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) residing in 10 camps in
NWFP, with more than 80,000 living in the largest camp, Jalozai.
The agency said that up to 900,000 people from the northern areas of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and
NWFP could still be displaced and staying with host communities, according to overall relief distribution figures.
“Movement back and forth between displacement and return areas has made it difficult to have more precise estimate on
the remaining IDPs,” UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic told reporters in Geneva.
UNHCR and its partners are carrying out a re-screening process at seven humanitarian hubs in five districts of NWFP to
better understand the scope and needs of the remaining displaced population, he added.
In addition to the aid that is being distributed to those in the camps, UNHCR is continuing to distribute tents to
people who fled the fighting and are staying in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank districts with host families.
More than 14,000 family tents, as well as sleeping mats, blankets, jerry cans and kitchen sets, have been given out so
far.
ENDS