UN releases $9.5 mn for Pakistan's insecurity-hit people

The United Nations has allocated $9.5 million to help meet the needs of over one million people in Pakistan who remain displaced in the country's tribal regions and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the UN office said here Thursday.

The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) said the funding comes at a crucial time, as significant humanitarian needs remain in KP province and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), yet aid agencies have limited resources to meet those needs, Xinhua reported.

"This money will save lives by ensuring that humanitarian organisations can continue to support the Government's efforts to help the most vulnerable men, women and children in KP and FATA," said Timo Pakkala, the UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan.

The funds will give life-saving food aid to 980,000 people; primary health care for 500,000 people; critical water, sanitation and hygiene services for 200,000 people; nutrition services for 65, 000 people, including malnourished children; and emergency shelter and non-food items for 14,000 people.

Pakistan is the fourth-largest recipient of CERF, contributed by voluntary contributions from UN Member States, non-governmental organizations, local governments, the private sector and individual donors, globally at a total of about $178 million since 2007.

The country is the sixth-largest in 2014, having received 6.22 percent of the about $152 million allocated to date this year.