Pakistan: Displaced women and children increasingly vulnerable, warns ACT

Displaced women and young girls are facing increasingly severe hardships in the Mardan and Swabi areas of Pakistan, as they have explained to members of ACT International.
"We are from cold areas and only have warm clothes with us. Now the temperature here is extremely hot and we are looking for suitable clothes," says Naz Bibi, a displaced woman in the Mardan area. "Pregnant women are sleeping on the floor and need mattresses."
As ACT members deliver assistance and continue to assess the needs of the 2.5 million displaced persons, staff are observing a significant lack of access to cooked food, hygiene facilities and health services for displaced women.
"Humanitarian assistance is not just about providing the material aid that people need," says ACT International director, John Nduna. "It is also about working to change the circumstances that block access to basic services -- particularly for the vulnerable and marginalised."
Women are having difficulty accessing assistance at male-dominated locations inside and outside the camps. More and more women, with their children, are arriving in the Swabi area unaccompanied by their husbands, who are staying behind in the conflict area to take care of property and crops. Without their husbands, many women face further difficulties accessing basic services.
Distribution points for cooked food in the camps are largely dominated by men and cultural barriers are preventing women from accessing the food for themselves and their children.
"In the camps, the cooked food that is available is not appropriate for young children under the age of two," says James John from Norwegian Church Aid (NCA). "And parents have nothing to offer to their children." Furthermore, CWS field staff have observed in one area that close to 90 percent of tents for displaced people do not have gas stoves for cooking meals.
The problem of insufficient latrines is compounded for women and girls because lack of privacy and separation from mens' latrines prevents their use. CWS reports that one latrine is serving as many as 35 people.
"One of the most critical issues is the lack of health facilities for women, particularly with the lack of female health staff," says Saleem Dominic from Church World Service (CWS), after returning from the field over the weekend. NCA is giving particular attention pregnant women's needs with full checkups, referral services and care through female medical doctors. In addition, some 15 hygiene sessions have been carried out through female and male social organisers in the Yar Hussain Camp. As of the end of May, mobile health units deployed by CWS had treated 350 people, mostly for diarrhea, skin diseases and respiratory tract infections.
In total, ACT members have mobilised over US $3 million for programmes under a coordinated appeal, but much more is needed as they scale up their responses to meet the growing needs.
Mansoor Raza with CWS notes that ACT members in Pakistan share a growing concern for how long the current situation is tenable for the millions of displaced. Host communities -- where the vast majority of affected people are staying -- face major pressure on their shrinking resources.
Displaced women, men and children directly voiced their concerns and needs to humanitarian agencies and local media at a recent event entitled "Learning from the voices of the IDPs". The event, organised by CWS with their local partners in Islamabad, was broadcast on live radio.
"People are expressing their anger in contrast to the 2005 earthquake because this situation is a manmade disaster," adds Mr Raza. "There is a real level of uncertainty in the population. They want to go back, but they need assurance that it will be safe to do so."