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PAKISTAN: Flood-affected Afghan refugees receive assistance in Balochistan

26 Jul 2007 14:23:43 GMT
Source: IRIN

Background

• Pakistan violence

• Afghan turmoil

ISLAMABAD , 26 July 2007 (IRIN) - An estimated 4,000 Afghan refugees living in camps in Pakistan's flood-affected Balochistan Province are now receiving assistance, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has confirmed.

"At the moment, we are covering the needs of the Afghan refugees," Babar Baloch, a UNHCR spokesman, said from the provincial capital Quetta.

Communities in refugee-hosting areas were also being assisted, he said. "Most of the impact was on the host communities… we've probably helped more Pakistanis at this point in time than Afghans."

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on 25 July, an estimated 2.5 million people were affected by flooding in Balochistan and Sindh provinces, after cyclone Yemyin first struck the country on 23 June. Four days of torrential rain left 319 people dead, 224 others missing and some 377,000 displaced or homeless.

Five camps affected

Of the more than two million registered Afghans living in Pakistan today, some 440,000 live in Balochistan, a vast, sparsely populated province of just over 8 million inhabitants.

Approximately 20 percent of these Afghan refugees in Balochistan, or 88,000 people, live in 12 refugee camps in the province. Only 4,000 of 40,000 refugees that live in five of the camps were affected by floods, according to the UNHCR.

Of these, Posti, Lejaykarez, Chagai and Girdi Jungle camps are located in Chagai District, 450km southwest of Quetta. The latter is home to some 30,000 refugees and the largest of the camps. Malgagai, the fifth affected camp is located in Killasaifullah District, about 250km north of Quetta.

"The water system there was badly damaged," Baloch said, referring to the situation in Malgagai.

As part of the UNHCR's response through local and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs), comprised primarily of non-food related items, some 3,000 tents have been distributed thus far, as well as over 13,000 tarpaulins.

"Initially when we arrived there weren't many tents available. Plastic sheeting is now being used as an alternative to the tents," Baloch said.

Restocking

Following the UNHCR's immediate response to the disaster, the next challenge facing the agency is the replenishment of stocks used in the operation, Baloch said. The UNHCR is now largely dependent on contributions made to its share of the UN's US$38 million flash appeal for flood affected areas, launched in Geneva on 18 July.

"We've distributed practically everything," he remarked. "These stocks were not meant for emergencies, but rather for the refugee camps' needs all over Pakistan… Now we need to replenish these stocks."

As part of the appeal, the UNHCR has requested $2.7 million to provide shelter material for some 150,000 people in refugee-hosting areas.

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Last updated:Thu Jul 26 14:26:31 2007