United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has begun to distribute additional relief supplies to some 85,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who are living in camps at North-West of Pakistan. This aid will help the IDPs, gathering some 13,600 families, to cope with the hardships of winter, says a press release here on Wednesday.
The first phase of the drive started on Monday in Jalozai camp, which is located near Peshawar in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). It will continue in eight camps in the lead up to the Eid-ul-Azha holiday, which begins on Friday. Each family will receive six blankets, four sleeping mats and two plastic sheets for warmth and insulation, in addition to other relief supplies received when they initially registered in the camp.
The aid will be handed out with the help of community leaders this week in several camps, including Jalozai, Jalala, Benazir complex, Wali Kandow and Palosa in the NWFP. More than 12,000 residents of the two Kacha Ghari camps will receive the winter packages and new tents when they relocate to Jalozai next week after Eid.
A second round of winter assistance will follow including, woollen shawls, solar lamps and fire wood. There are currently more than 100,000 people residing in 10 camps in the NWFP. Jalozai is the largest, accommodating more than 80,000 people, primarily from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).
Some IDPs have now lived at Jalozai camp for a year. About 30,000 people from Bajaur and Bara in Khyber Agency have registered at the camp since October. Up to 900,000 people from the northern areas of the Fata and NWFP could still be displaced and staying with host communities, according to overall relief distribution figures. Movement back and forth between displacement and return areas has made it difficult to have a more precise estimate on the remaining IDPs.