Conflict in Pakistan

Mass displacement

• Around 3 million people forced to flee their homes
• Hundreds of thousands in need of shelter, food, clean water and health facilities

Oxfam has an ongoing emergency response to support up to 520,000 people.

Audio: Pakistani refugee - 'Nobody's listening'
(radio report from BBC Radio 4 - 27 April 2010)

On film: voices from Pakistan

What your money can buy

£60 – Build a bathing enclosure

With £60 Oxfam can create an area of enclosed space where women can wash, and go about their daily duties in privacy. It is especially stressful for women of this culture to be doing these in public. Donate now

£20 – Buy a hygiene kit

With £20 we can buy a hygiene kit for a family of seven, including a plastic bucket with lid for collecting water, a water storage unit with tap, and antiseptic, laundry and dishwashing soap. Donate now

£11 – Buy a farming kit

With £11 you can make a difference to the lives of conflict-affected families in Pakistan by enabling us to supply them with this set of farming tools. Donate now

Oxfam's emergency response in Pakistan is supported by AusAID, ECHO, DfID and Unicef

Learn more

• Situation overview
• Oxfam's response

On the ground

In May 2009, conflict in the Swat Valley of the North West Frontier Province forced over 2 million people to flee their homes in the most rapidly growing displacement in history. One year on, the crisis is still far from over.

More than 1.3 million Pakistanis remain displaced since last year's military operations by the Government of Pakistan against militant groups. Recent military offensives in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has forced more than 200,000 others to leave their homes in recent months to flee the fighting.

In pictures: Pakistan's displaced people

The humanitarian situation in districts including Hangu, Kohat, Dera Ismail Khan and Tank and the Peshawar Valley is becoming increasingly desperate.

Many of the displaced are staying with friends or relatives, with houses being shared by up to ten families with inadequate access to water, sanitation and healthcare. Those who are not staying with friends and families are staying in overcrowded camps where health and sanitation facilities are poor.

Those families that have started returning home are in need of urgent support to restore their livelihoods. Many have lost their assests and up to 70% of their livestock. They have also missed two harvest seasons for wheat and tobacco and face the additional challenge of a security-related ban on growing maize crops.

Access to cash is urgently needed due to high prices of basic goods, a lack of income opportunities, the loss of cash crops, and the loss of savings.

Learn about Oxfam's response

Oxfam is there

Oxfam has been carrying out an emergency response since the beginning of the crisis, and is currently providing support to around 520,000 displaced women, men and children in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan.

In pictures: Oxfam's emergency response

For displaced people we have prioritised the provision of clean water and sanitation, especially in the host communities, small camps and schools.

Our response has involved contructing safe and hygienic latrines and bathing spaces with separate areas for men and women.

We have also installed special hand pumps and carried out repairs and maintenance on existing water supplies to ensure people have access to clean and safe water.

Our hygiene work has included distributing hygiene and household items such as cooking pots and utensils, buckets, water coolers and soap. We have also run a number of clean-up campaigns in schools and around camps and towns and have recruited and trained special Community Health Volunteers to pass on hygiene promotion messages to their communities.

Livelihoods recovery

Oxfam is also supporting around 27,600 returning families (approximately 220,000 people) in Swat Buner and Kohat districts to increase access to income and food, and help facilitate early livelihood recovery.

Our work includes providing agricultural tools, fertilisers and seeds such as wheat, peas, onions and tomatoes. We are also carrying out livestock distributions and have been running cash transfer programmes through special cash-for-work projects and cash grants.

The community projects included in our cash-for-work programme range from the reconstruction and rehabilitation of irrigation channels, roads and streets to drinking water supply schemes and dug wells.

We continue to call on all sides in the conflict to take special care to avoid harming civilians, and to allow humanitarian workers safe access to help people affected by the conflict wherever they are.

Update:25 May 2010