UNITED NATIONS-Many Pakistani families displaced in Afghanistan’s Khost and Paktika provinces following the military operation in North Waziristan are urgently in need of food according to the UN Refugee Agency.
An estimated 95,000 people fled to Afghanistan, Farhan Haq, the Deputy Spokerperson for the UN Secretary-General, told the regular noon briefing in New York.
Many of the Pakistanis had arrived across the border with few possessions and host communities in Afghanistan are struggling to cope with the influx, Haq said, adding the UN agencies and humanitarian partners have scaled up assistance since mid-June.
According to the spokesperson, the World Food Program (WFP) has distributed food rations to 900 families. UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners have vaccinated nearly 25,000 children against polio.
WHO has pre-positioned life-saving medication for 25,000 patients and UNHCR has distributed tents to hundreds of families.
However, sanitation, clean drinking water and medical care are in short supply, and although local communities have generously welcomed the displaced, already scarce resources are now reaching capacity, he said