Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

FROM THE FIELD

Food aid relieves burden in Pakistan’s conflict-torn northwest
20 Jul 2009 12:53:33 GMT
 Source: World Vision Middle East/Eastern Europe/ Central Asia office
wvmeero logo

Background

•  Pakistan violence

•  Food and hunger

•  Children

MORE >>
Almost 150,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) have received food provisions from World Vision and the World Food Programme (WFP) in an effort to meet the immediate food needs of IDPs and relieve some of the burden being borne by generous and impoverished host families.

Initiated in June following a massive displacement of people as a result of conflict between the Pakistani military and Taliban militants, the project will provide 24,983 households in Mardan district with wheat, pulses, vegetable oil, salt, sugar and tea until the end of the year.

At a time when the price of staples like wheat is at an all time high as a result of the global food crisis, the food distributions are a welcome relief to both IDPs and the families that are struggling to support them.

Even before the conflict, the NWFP was characterised as 'food insecure' due to lack of employment and livelihood opportunities, and because of high insecurity. The situation for many IDPs is now much worse because an unknown number has lost seasonal crops due to the conflict.

World Vision staff are distributing the monthly food rations from humanitarian hubs in host villages, taking into account the cultural norms and values that underpin the way Pakistani people relate to one another and carry out their everyday tasks. A separate distribution point has been established for women, for example, in an effort to protect their privacy and need to stay separated from males outside of the family.

Simple measures like providing distribution cards with dates for distribution means only those people assigned to a particular distribution date come to collect their food ration. 'In this manner we changed the trend of open distribution in which thousands of people use to rush on the same day out of which many thousands used to go back empty handed', explained Touqeer Ahmed, World Vision Pakistan Commodity Officer.

Dolat Bibi, a 56-year-old widow is now caring for five grandchildren after fleeing from Swat. 'I saw a large swarm of people like locusts outside distribution points when I was passing by Swabi city... I decided to procure ahead in the distribution when my time would come. It was my luck, I may say that my distribution point happened to be in the hands of World Vision and they really gave me my rations in grace and respect', she said.

'I never expected that the distribution could be so comfortable and easy to access. Now I can even take my children along with me as they are bored due to sitting all the time inside the house', said Safijan, residing near Shahbaz Garih.

For some IDPs, returning home is still not an option. But as increasing numbers of IDPs begin to make the return journey home, World Vision and other humanitarian agencies are assessing whether food provisions also need to be made available to returnees in their places of origin, as well as other activities focused on the wellbeing of children and recovery of livelihoods.

-Ends-


[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

Email this article       Send comments

Topics

•  Children

•  Politics of Aid

•  Food and hunger

•  Refugees & displacement

MORE >>

Emergencies

•  Pakistan violence

MORE >>

Members

•  World Vision Middle East/Eastern Europe/ Central Asia office

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  Food aid relieves burden in Pakistan’s conflict-torn northwest
World Vision Middle East/Eastern Europe/ Central Asia

•  One World Conservatism: Merlin's response
Merlin - UK

•  Disruptions in HIV drug supplies and funding endanger patient lives
MSF International

•  Pakistan: Returning displaced families face massive challenges
Red Cross - UK

•  Pakistan: Rights of the displaced key concern as return gains momentum
World Vision Middle East/Eastern Europe/ Central Asia

MORE >>

Latest news

•  Clinton: U.S. will do everything to free soldier

•  FACTBOX-Security developments in Pakistan, July 20

•  Mumbai attacker pleads guilty in court

•  British fighter jet crashes in south Afghanistan

•  MYANMAR: Taking bets on increased poverty

MORE >>

[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

Background information

Briefings
Pakistan violence - [Who works where]

Topics
Children Politics of Aid Food and hunger Refugees & displacement
Facts & figures
Pakistan
Statistics graphs
Refugees residing here (2007)
Chart for Refugees residing here
View more stats

Related articles

Breaking stories
 Clinton: U.S. will do everything to free soldier (1 minute ago)

FACTBOX-Security developments in Pakistan, July 20 (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
 Wounds fester a year after Kenya election violence (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
 Food aid relieves burden in Pakistan’s conflict-torn northwest (1 minute ago)

Blogs
 Wednesday award for the worst place in the world (1 minute ago)

Maps
 IDP Shelter Map: Veerapuram, Sumathipura & Maha kongaskada Camps, Vavuniya District, Sri Lanka (1 minute ago)


Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-07-19T172207Z_01_AAL116_RTRIDSP_2_PAKISTAN_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AAL116.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-07-19T170634Z_01_AAL115_RTRIDSP_2_PAKISTAN_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AAL115.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-07-19T170549Z_01_AAL114_RTRIDSP_2_PAKISTAN_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AAL114.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-07-19T170453Z_01_AAL113_RTRIDSP_2_PAKISTAN_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AAL113.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-07-19T164412Z_01_AAL111_RTRIDSP_2_PAKISTAN_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AAL111.htm

Men, who fled a military offensive two months earlier, pass destroyed buildings as they enter the city of Mingora, in Pakistan's Swat Valley, about 260 km (161 miles) north west by ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Mon Jul 20 13:06:00 2009