Unicef Concerned About Displaced Children In Northwest Pakistan

Displaced Pakistani children wait their turn at a food distribution center of Jalozai refugee camp in Peshawar, 25 May 2009 The U.N. Children's Fund says it is deeply concerned about thecondition of thousands of children who have been displaced by conflictin northwestern Pakistan. UNICEF says children are in urgent need ofhealth, education and other services.  

The U.N. Children's Fundreports nearly half of the estimated two million people displaced byconflict in Pakistan's Swat Valley are children.

It says manyare in urgent need of health and educational services, nutritionalsupport, access to clean water and sanitation, as well as protection. It says these problems are made even more difficult by the swelteringsummer heat.

UNICEF says it is particularly concerned that some700,000 children will miss out on the coming school year. School issupposed to start in September. But, the agency says 3,700 schools maynot be available for classes because they are being used to house150,000 internally displaced people.

UNICEF spokeswoman,Veronique Taveau, says her agency has set up so-called child friendlyspaces in the camps as a stopgap measure. She says these spaces haverecreational and school learning equipment to help children get back tosome semblance of normality.

She says children in the camps arebetter off than the tens of thousands of children who are living withfamily and friends in host communities.

"The problem we have atthe moment is for us to be able to reach those families and thosechildren that are in those communities, sometimes in remote spaceswhere we cannot have access," Taveau explained. "So, that is theconcern we have at the moment because we know that some of thosefamilies and some of those children they are lacking almost everythinglike potable water, drinking water, hygiene and schooling."  

Fightingbetween government forces and Taliban militants erupted toward the endof April. Within three weeks, about two million people had fled theirhomes. The speed and magnitude of the crisis surprised the governmentand aid agencies and has put an enormous strain of their ability toprovide assistance.

About 10 percent or 200,000 of the displacedare sheltering in camps, which are providing for their essentialneeds. But, the vast majority or 1.8 million people are living in hostcommunities.

UNICEF says children and families are living incramped conditions with limited aid in these communities. It says themonsoon season will soon begin and children, many of whom aremalnourished, are at great risk of contracting water borne and otherdiseases.

It says its humanitarian efforts are being hampered bylack of funds. It says it has raised less than a third of the $543million needed to support 1.7 million IDPs for six months.