Emergency Grant Aid to Internally Displaced Persons in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

June 9, 2009
Japanese

On June 9 (Tue), Japan pledged a total of 10 million USD (about 10.3 billion JPY) in Emergency Grant Aid as assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). The Emergency Grant Aid will be carried out through the World Food Programme (WFP), the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
To drive out Islamic extremist groups such as the Taliban that had been controlling the Swat area through armed force, the Government of Pakistan began full-fledged military operations against them in late April. As a result, most of the residents of those areas have become IDPs and are flowing into nearby areas in massive numbers. The number of newly registered IDPs is more than 3 million as of May 30 (if including IDPs registered since August 2008, the total numbers come to over 350 million). Japan’s Emergency Grant Aid is a response to the UN’s Emergency Humanitarian Appeal that was reissued in April 2009, and will provide funds necessary for the food assistance etc. to the IDPs.
At the Pakistan Donors Conference held in Tokyo on April 17, Japan announced its intention to provide assistance of up to 1 billion USD. The Emergency Grant Aid is part of this assistance.

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