Pakistan

A woman displaced by the historic floods of 2010 in Pakistan stands under her USAID/OFDA-provided emergency shelter.

IOM

Since August 2008, conflict between the Government of Pakistan (GoP) and militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPk) Province and northern parts of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has displaced more than 4 million individuals.  Large-scale spontaneous and GoP-assisted returns to areas of origin have occurred each year; however, GoP security operations in Khyber Agency, FATA, newly displaced an estimated 59,000 families between January and July 2012, according to U.N. agencies.  From mid-August to early September 2011, heavy monsoon rains resulted in flooding in all districts in Sindh Province and nine districts in Balochistan Province, displacing an estimated 1.8 million people and damaging or destroying approximately 823,000 houses, according to the International Organization for Migration.  In addition, heavy rainfall caused water to breach river banks and irrigation canals, destroying more than 2.1 million acres of agricultural land, according to the GoP National Disaster Management Authority.

USG HUMANITARIAN FUNDING PROVIDED IN FY 2012

*This figure includes funding for both disaster response and disaster risk reduction activities (As of August 13, 2012).

Pakistan Floods and Complex Emergency Fact Sheet #3 (278kb PDF) and map (611kb PDF)

Key Developments

As of July 16, 2012, more than 156,000 families remained internally displaced due to conflict in northwest FATA—an increase of nearly 48,000 families since early March 2012, according to the U.N.  Most internally displaced persons (IDPs) are residing with host families or in rental housing in FATA and KPk Province, while others are residing in three formal camps. 

In Pakistan’s southern provinces of Balochistan and Sindh, more than 1.2 million people displaced by the 2011 floods had returned home as of April 30, while standing water and flood damage continued to prevent 10,000 others from doing so, according to the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF).  By May 4, floodwaters had receded by nearly 99 percent compared to peak levels, according to U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates.

USAID/OFDA continues to pursue its strategy of providing immediate relief assistance to conflict-affected populations, as well as helping flood-affected families recover.  USAID/OFDA is providing assistance in the sectors of agriculture and food security, economic recovery and market systems, health, humanitarian coordination and information management, shelter and settlements, and water, sanitation, and hygiene, as well as providing logistics support and relief commodities.  In addition, USAID/OFDA prepared for the 2012 monsoon season through disaster risk reduction and preparedness efforts, as well as joint planning exercises with colleagues from the U.S. military and U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.