ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (May 11, 2009) —  World Vision, its partners and the Pakistani government are coordinating relief efforts in order to respond to growing human suffering in the northwest region of the country. New waves of refugees are fleeing from the Swat valley every day as fighting intensifies between the army and the Taliban.

"There is human suffering on a massive scale, and it's getting worse.  Even with the well-functioning camps and their present effective management and coordination, a rapid movement of even more displaced people could lead to challenges," said Jeff Hall, World Vision’s deputy director for advocacy in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.  "The camps are well organized, but there is no comfort in a refugee camp."

World Vision has finished its preliminary assessments from the Jalala camp in Mardan and the Chota Lahore camp in Swabi and is preparing to ramp up its relief and response efforts.  Later this week, World Vision will begin distributing non-food items such as pots, pans and cooking supplies to families in need in both the camps and the host communities.

“In order to bring quick, effective relief to the people of Pakistan, we are working in coordination with the UN, other aid agencies, and the Pakistani government to provide aid to those who need it most,” said Canadian Graham Strong, World Vision's National Director in Pakistan.  “Right now, we must continue to stay focused on our first priority — helping the people of the Swat valley.”

The biggest concerns remain the searing heat that makes life in the tents uncomfortable, the potential for overcrowding within the camps, and the growing daily strain on “host communities”. Host communities are friends, relatives, guesthouses, and other government shelters that are set up in the communities around the camps to help absorb the influx of new refugees every day.

Preliminary reports from the field have found that between 70 and 80 per cent of the displaced people are living in these host communities, putting an even greater strain on families that are already living in poverty and have very little capacity to provide for their rapidly growing households.  There is a desperate need to provide assistance to those living in host communities so that people do not begin to compete for scarce resources or move to already crowded camps.
World Vision has operated in Pakistan since 1992. World Vision does not have child sponsorship programs in the country. Communities in five districts of Pakistan benefit from our intervention targeting health, water and sanitation, education, and psychosocial support. World Vision Canada funds more than $780,000 in projects that focus on community farming for families, child rights which ensures that children have access to quality services, and improvement in the standard of living after the earthquake that hit Pakistan in October 2005.

World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.

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