Airlift for Pakistan displaced
Briefing Notes, 19 June 2009
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 19 June 2009, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
UNHCR welcomes the airlift of more than 35,000 kilograms of relief supplies donated by the Irish and the Norwegian governments for our operations on behalf of displaced people in Pakistan's north-west.
The urgently-needed relief goods, which include tents, blankets and kitchen sets for a total value of approximately $318,000, arrived yesterday (Thursday) at Chaklala Military Air Base in Islamabad on an Airbus 300. The flight from Brindisi in Italy to Islamabad was organised in cooperation with OCHA, WFP and UNHRD.
The consignment includes: 6,600 blankets and 220 tents offered by Norway; as well as 1,000 kitchen sets and 900 mosquito nets, donated by IRISH AID. Both donors also covered all the freight and handling costs of the relief items.
The goods are now on their way to UNHCR's operational hub in the North West Frontier Province, where they will be used to help improve conditions in camps for displaced people. We are particularly grateful to OCHA for having promoted this flight and to the two governments involved for their generosity.
The internally displaced seek safety in other parts of their country, where they need help.
Information brochure about UNHCR's Global Emergency Stockpile located in Dubai.
Related Internet Links
UNHCR is not responsible for the content and availability of external internet sites
Somalia Airlift: UNHCR flies aid to Mogadishu for first time in 5 years.
For the first time in five years, UNHCR has been able to airlift vital humanitarian aid to the conflict-ravaged Somalia capital of Mogadishu. Tens of thousands of Somalis, fleeing drought and famine, have descended on the city in recent weeks searching for food, water, medicine and other assistance.
Three UNHCR-chartered aircraft have brought around 100 tonnes of aid to Mogadishu since August 8. The aircraft carried relief items from the agency's emergency stockpile in Dubai. The latest shipment includes high energy protein biscuits, plastic sheeting for shelter, sleeping mats, blankets, jerry cans for water and kitchen utensils.
The UN refugee agency usually delivers relief items to Mogadishu by sea and land for security reasons, but - due to the unprecedented rise in the number of uprooted civilians - UNHCR decided to airlift supplies in order to save time. There are now around half-a-million internally displaced people in Mogadishu.
Somalia Airlift: UNHCR flies aid to Mogadishu for first time in 5 years.
Pakistan: Fleeing to Safety
More than 1.5 million people flee their homes in North-West Pakistan.
Fighting between the army and Taliban militants in and around the Swat Valley in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province has displaced more than 1.5 million people since the beginning of May. Some of the displaced are being sheltered in camps set up by the government and supplied by UNHCR. Others - the majority, in fact - are staying in public buildings, such as schools, or with friends and extended family members. Living conditions are harsh. With the onset of summer, rising temperatures are contributing to a range of ailments, especially for villagers from Swat accustomed to a cooler climate. Pakistan's displacement crisis has triggered an outpouring of generosity at home. UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres is urging a "massive" assistance effort from abroad as well.
Pakistan: Fleeing to Safety
Sri Lanka: IDPs and Returnees
During Sri Lanka's 20-year civil war more than 1 million people were uprooted from their homes or forced to flee, often repeatedly. Many found shelter in UNHCR-supported Open Relief Centers, in government welfare centers or with relatives and friends.
In February 2002, the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) signed a cease-fire accord and began a series of talks aimed at negotiating a lasting peace. By late 2003, more than 300,000 internally displaced persons had returned to their often destroyed towns and villages.
In the midst of these returns, UNHCR provided physical and legal protection to war affected civilians – along with financing a range of special projects to provide new temporary shelter, health and sanitation facilities, various community services, and quick and cheap income generation projects.
Sri Lanka: IDPs and Returnees
Pakistan: Flood Relief
Floods in Pakistan have ruined crops and destroyed homes. The rains have ended but displaced people will need help for weeks or months to come.
Pakistan: The Floods Return
Flooding has returned to Pakistan, forcing people to flee their homes for the second year in a row. A year after his wife died in floodwaters, Obhayo Babar is on the move again.
Somalia: First airlift
UNHCR's first aid flight to Somalia in five years lands in Mogadishu
with 31 metric tons of shelter materials and other relief items for
displaced Somalis.
| 
| 
| 
