Up to two million people have been forced to leave their homes in Pakistan's Swat Valley as fighting between the Pakistan army and Taliban militants intensifies.

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The current emergency is on the scale of the mass displacement we saw during the disastrous wars in Rwanda and Bosnia, and much more funding is needed to cope with the influx.—Mike Young, IRC Pakistan country representative

The IRC is responding to the urgent humanitarian needs of tens of thousands of civilians who have escaped the combat zone but more funds are urgently needed as the crisis deepens.

Abdul Haseeb, the IRC's senior coordinator for humanitarian response in Pakistan, said fresh drinking water is one of the most pressing needs.  "Temperatures are as high as 40 degrees celsius and with so many new people arriving and so few water sources, it is hard to keep up with demand."

• The IRC is trucking in 252,000 litres of water per day to Nowshera district's Jalozai camp alone.
• We've also helped to repair two wells that provide some 70,000 people in Jalozai and Peshawar's Katcha Gari camp with drinking water.
• To prevent the spread of disease IRC teams have constructed over 400 latrines, 200 washing places and 100 garbage disposal points in the Jalozai and Katcha Gari camps.
• We are also registering thousands of displaced people as they arrive in six of the largest camps which helps to safeguard their rights and ensure access to basic services.
• And we have established drop-in centres to provide legal information to newcomers such as their rights and how to obtain identity cards.

The IRC has nearly 30 years of experience working in Pakistan and has been assisting displaced people in the northern tribal areas since November when over half a million people were displaced by an earlier wave of conflict.

Haseeb added that the current emergency is potentially the biggest displacement crisis Pakistan has faced. "In many ways it is even more challenging than the earthquake in 2005, as the situation is so violent, unpredictable and changes so rapidly," he said.

May 2009