July 14, 2009

NEW YORK – Even though a few families have chosen to rreturn to their homes in Pakistan's Swat valley, international aid agency Church World Service today urged continued support for the millions who remain displaced by fighting between army and Taliban forces, which began in early May.

"We know no one is more eager to bring this emergency to a close than those who fled the violence," CWS Emergency Response Director Donna Derr said. "The numbers of people returning home from safe haven are quite small, and a humanitarian crisis remains across Pakistan."

Pakistan government officials announced Monday a three-phase plan to return home those who left for safety, otherwise known as internally displaced persons. While some IDPs are in government-managed camps, most sought shelter in private residences, leading to a more complex humanitarian response.

To assist families in camps, CWS provided emergency shelter and food kits. As many as 1.7 million registered in camps, according to United Nations officials. As millions more remain in private residences, CWS continues to work with local partners to identify communities in need of food assistance.

"Many of those displaced are women and children," Derr said. "Without a male head of household to accompany them, many women face challenges in securing food and medical assistance."

CWS' primary local partner in the response, the Movement for Rural Development Organization, continues to help identify communities where women are in need of food and medical care. Mobile Health Units from CWS Pakistan/Afghanistan feature a female medical professional who can provide care in areas where it is culturally unacceptable for a man to do so.

"The process of ensuring security and returning people home is going to take some time," Derr said. "Until then it is up to all of us to help those caught in a situation far beyond their control."

An international relief and development agency based in New York, CWS has operated in Pakistan since 1954. Beyond this immediate relief assistance, CWS is the Humanitarian Accountability Project/Sphere focal point for training and support to partners engaged in the current crisis response. CWS, which shapes its food aid and other disaster responses according to international quality and accountability standards as set out by the Sphere Project (sphereproject.org) and the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAPInternational.org), served as HAP and Sphere focal point during the Cyclone Nargis response in Myanmar.

How to help

Contributions to support Church World Service emergency response and recovery efforts may be made online at http://www.churchworldservice.org/, by phone (800.297.1516), or sent to Church World Service, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515.

Church World Service