* Most displaced Pakistanis not drawing on international aid * U.N. says needs will rise if northwest fighting continues * Host communities face higher risk of disease By Laura MacInnis GENEVA, May 26 (Reuters) - Most of the more than 2 million people uprooted by Pakistan's offensive against the Taliban are now taking care of themselves and not relying on international aid, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday. Only 200,000 of the 2.38 million people estimated to have fled the Swat violence are living in camps, Ron Redmond, spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said. "The vast majority of people are staying with friends, relatives, taking care of themselves, even renting accommodation," he told a news conference. Redmond said, however, that many of those now sheltering in others' homes could be forced to move to the packed camps if the fighting between government and Taliban forces continued. "These host families cannot afford to keep them indefinitely. That is a concern," he said. Last week, the United Nations launched an appeal for $543 million to help feed, shelter and care for people displaced by the fighting in northwest Pakistan. The World Health Organisation said the communities hosting displaced Pakistanis face a higher risk of disease because of the new arrivals. This is putting increased pressure on weak health, sanitation and water systems. The number of uprooted people in the region is likely to rise further as people still stranded in conflict zones find ways to flee, Redmond told a Geneva news briefing. "When the curfew is lifted there is an enormous rush by people to get out," he said of the military-imposed restrictions on movement. "The curfew can be turned on and off like a spigot. It's like opening a water tap." The UNHCR spokesman said the 2.38 million estimate -- drawn from provincial government registries of displaced people seeking assistance -- may be inflated as a result of people registering for aid in more than one centre. Doctors in the region -- where temperatures have peaked at 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) -- have been busy treating patients with breathing problems, diarrhoeal diseases, unexplained fever, scabies and suspected malaria, the WHO said in a health status update on Tuesday. (Editing by Robert Woodward)
Tamil civilians stand in line to collect water in the Manik Farm refugee camp located on the outskirts of northern Sri Lankan town of Vavuniya May 26, 2009. U.N. Secretary-General Ban ...
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