The government of Japan has contributed $4.06 million to assist Pakistanis displaced by the recent conflict and floods in the northern parts of the country, as a humanitarian gesture to support the world's largest refugee-hosting nation.
The $4.06 million donation will go towards the UN refugee agency's operations supporting the needs of relief supplies including shelter, transportation, registration and operation costs for the Internally Displaced People (IDP) in Pakistan, says a press release here Tuesday.
In total, UNHCR Pakistan needs $17.2 million to carry out its activities for an estimated 310,000 affected people. UNHCR response is part of a $54 million `Pakistan Humanitarian Response Plan' launched by the UN to assist the government in providing immediate humanitarian relief to the IDPs in different sectors.
"The recent tragedies in Pakistan have moved the people and the government in Japan. This donation, coming from the people of Japan, reflects our commitment to help thousands left homeless due to the recent events. These people are in dire need of immediate humanitarian assistance," said Chihiro Atsumi, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan.
The UNHCR budget covers the provision of non-food relief items to the displaced people, registration, site planning and development, as well as camp management, community services and initial winteriasation in the camps. "The Japanese support for the IDPs comes at the time when it is mostly required to help the uprooted people inside Pakistan," said Guenet Guebre- Christos, UNHCR's Representative in Islamabad.
"Japan has been a reliable humanitarian partner assisting UNHCR in responding to human tragedies around the globe. It is also an acknowledgement of Pakistan's long-term hospitality towards refugees from the international community."
According to government figures, there are an estimated 180,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) due to the August floods and the ongoing fighting in Swat and the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.