87pc IDPs still waiting for help; only 2pc funds given so far

ISLAMABAD: Of the 457,000+ Pakistanis displaced from North Waziristan Agency (NWA) the Government of Pakistan has so far provided any meaningful help to only 59,410 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
According to The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), “With almost no new displacements since 24 June the number of people displaced from North Waziristan Agency (NWA) remains at over 457,000 people, with more than 74 per cent of them women and children. Over 90,000 people went from NWA to Khost province of Afghanistan. Unverified reports indicate that another approximately 10,000 people are in Paktika province.”
According to the National Disaster Management Authority (Prime Minister’s Office), “So far 36,831 families crossed over from North Waziristan Agency areas of operations and have been registered.”
Surprisingly, so far, “cash has been disbursed to 4,777 affected families”-and that is a mere 13 percent of the total registered as IDPs. What is urgently needed is food, water and tents. Core relief items that are urgently needed include “vaccines, medical supplies and support for sanitation”. And in order “to cover the current case load of 36,831 families, 4,587 tons of food per month are needed”.
Surprisingly, so far, only 534 tons food has been distributed-and that is a mere 12 percent of the required.There is absolutely no doubt that a major humanitarian crisis is in the making at mere 250 kilometers from Islamabad. PML-N must gear up for three things: political will, re-prioritisation of resources and the building up of organisational capacity.
PML-N needs to organise IDP Vulnerability Assessment and Profiling (IVAP). PML-N needs to classify priority needs and analyse vulnerabilities at the household level. As per OCHA estimates, funds required for humanitarian needs in KP and Fata stand at Rs28 billion. The Federal Government has so far allocated Rs500 million-a paltry 2 percent of

the required.