Since mid-April the Pakistani army is fighting Taliban strongholds in Swat valley and other areas of the Northwest Frontier Province within the framework of the operation „Rah-e-Rast". Since then more than 2,4 Mio Pakistani citizens have become displaced all over the country. Over 200.000 people live in camps and more than 2 Mio Internally Displaced People (IDPs) have found refuge in the private sector with relatives, friends or other host families. These IDPs in the private sector are hardly visible as the media as well as most of the aid agencies concentrate on the situation in the refugee camps. But the situation in the private sector is as volatile and tense as in the camps.
Children and pregnant women suffer most
Every day new refugees reach the camps and host families with no more belongings than the clothes they wear. The misery of these IDPs is immense and especially children under 5 years, mothers, pregnant women and elderly persons suffer most. In addition, people suffer from the subtropical heat and the beginning of monsoon with heavy rainfall. There is an increase in cases of malaria and gastro-intestinal diseases. Medical doctors and nurses do not even have fundamental medical material available. Due to the lack of capacities a continuous medical care is not or only very basically possible. 6.000 pregnant women in the camps do not have any medical contact points for early recognition during pregnancy or the birth of their child. For the private sector no figures are available, but the number of pregnant women in this sector most be considerably higher.
Fast emergency aid
With its aid for refugees and IDPs HELP can look back on long standing experience in Pakistan. As early as 1981 HELP started with the support of refugees from Afghanistan that had escaped from the Russian invasion in their country and who found refuge in Pakistan. For this acute crisis our project co-ordinator Joerg Henneboehl is in Pakistan since 16 May 2009. Being educated as a medical nurse he is experienced in medical aid in emergency situations, thus his first activity was to order of two Interagency Medical Health Kits from Germany. With these kits basic health care can be provided for 20.000 people over a period of 3 months. The kits were provided by our partner organization action medeor and contain, amongst others, analgetics, antibiotics and medical dressings. In mid-May these kits arrived in Pakistan and were distributed by local NGOs in the camp of Jalozai near Mardan and also reached out to IDPs at host families in this region.
New project has started
But as the medical demands of the IDPs are by far not sufficiently met, HELP has started with a new and extended relief project in the beginning of July. With the financial support of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the New Apostolic Church Charity HELP will secure the medical treatment of 500.000 IDPs in host families and public buildings in the district of Swabi and the camp Jalozai in Nowshera with four mobile teams and one stationary medical team over a period of 3 months. Urgently needed medical equipment will be purchased in Germany and Pakistan and distributed to the teams. Local partner is the experienced Pakistani NGO CAMP. A special focus of the projects lies on the assistance pregnant and breastfeeding women. The project has a total financial volume of 280.000 Euro (390.000 US$).
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
An internally displaced woman is photographed while taking refuge at a school in Mardan district, nearly 150 km (93 miles) by road northwest of Pakistan's capital Islamabad, July 8, 2009. About ...
