United Nations Radio

United Nations relief agencies in Pakistan are warning that their humanitarian relief operations in the country's north western region will grind to a halt over the next few weeks due to lack of funding.

Pakistani girl arrives at refugee camp

United Nations office for the coordination of humantarian affairs (OCHA) says donor support for the Pakistan emergency has been slow to come with only 25 per cent of the 543 million dollars appeal so far received. UN's Patrick Maigua reports from Geneva.

An estimated 2.4 million people have been internally displaced in Northwestern Pakistan since the beginning of May following the launch of a government offensive against militants operating in the Swat region. An estimated 200,000 of the displaced are living in 23-tented camps in the North West Frontier Province, while the remaining two million people are living with host families in towns and villages in the province. United Nations Humanitarian co-ordinator in Pakistan Martin Mogwanja says essential supplies such as food and medicines may not be sustainable beyond July unless the international community rapidly and generously responds to the appeal for funding.

"...we are informed from the food cluster that it may only be one more month before they have no rations coming in the pipeline. The health cluster has pointed out again that (in) four to six weeks there will be no more medicines based on the current allocations. The water and sanitation group of agencies is addressing huge requirements for water and sanitation. They are covering the needs for 200,000 people, but they are not reaching any significant proportion of the populations outside the camps in the host communities- so they need immediate funding for water and sanitation".

The World Health Organisation and UNICEF are warning that overcrowding in the IDP camps and among the host communities was affecting water supply and sanitation facilities increasing the risk of a major outbreak of communicable diseases. United Nations says the displacement in North Western Pakistan is the largest the world has witnessed in nearly two decades.

Patrick Maigua UN Radio Geneva.

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