Funds needed to reach 2.6 million displaced Pakistanis with food aid, says UN

Without the contribution of urgently-needed funds, the United Nations and its partners will only be able to feed the 2.6 million Pakistanis forced to flee clashes between the Government and militants for the next month or two, it was announced today.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the world body has less than half of the $280 million sought to meet the food needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Pakistan.

In addition, the $543 million Humanitarian Action Plan launched late last month is only 22 per cent funded.

OCHA also warned that current stocks of essential drugs will run out by the end of this month. There is already a shortage of hygiene kits and soap in all camps housing some 200,000 of the uprooted, it added.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that the portion of the Action Plan dedicated to health needs is only 11 per cent funded.

There is a high risk of communicable disease outbreaks due to overcrowding, contaminated water, poor sanitation and inadequate health care provision, among other factors, WHO said, cautioning that a funding shortfall will impede abilities to detect and contain outbreaks.