Camps for displaced in Pakistan offer refuge and risk
Abdul Sami Malik, UNICEF
UNICEF reports on conditions in displacement camps in Charsadda, Pakistan.
CHARSADDA DISTRICT, Pakistan (September 4, 2010)—UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake's recent visit to Pakistan reflected the unprecedented scale of emergency the country faces, with more than 17 million people affected by floods caused due to exceptionally heavy monsoon rains.
Among the stops Mr. Lake made was Charsadda district in the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This conflict-affected region suffered another major blow when the monsoon floods affected 75% of the district's 1.7 million people. Almost 70,000 people here are taking shelter in school buildings that have been converted into relief camps.
UNICEF humanitarian aid
The chairman of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority greeted Mr. Lake at the camps and briefed him on the devastation caused by the floods. Mr. Lake expressed keen interest in educational, recreational and health services being provided by UNICEF and its partners. He joined in children's games and spoke with women at the shelters, discussing the issues and hardships they face after being forced from their homes and losing most of their belongings.
"UNICEF is going to do everything it can, not just during this emergency but as Pakistan works its way out of this emergency as well," Mr. Lake told journalists during the camp visit. He pointed out, as well, that UNICEF is gravely concerned about possible outbreaks of deadly diseases in the floods' aftermath.
Preventing polio outbreak
© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-1646/Ramoneda
UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake (right) administers oral polio vaccine to a baby at a shelter in Charsadda district, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
"This is one of the last areas in the world where there is polio, so the whole world will be watching to see how well we can do in preventing another outbreak, not just with measles, not just with diarrhea, but with polio," said Mr. Lake. "This specific area is very important for so many different reasons."
The camps in Charsadda are a small oasis of safety in a country that has been devastated by its largest disaster in living memory. Nearly 8.6 million children have been affected by the floods throughout Pakistan, and about 3.5 million are at risk of contracting waterborne diseases. UNICEF is gravely concerned that further disaster will follow unless more aid becomes available immediately.
