WESTPORT, Conn. (May 19, 2009) — Crowded living conditions, sweltering temperatures, scarcity of food and water, fear, fatigue and increasing impoverishment are exacerbating the risks facing displaced children from Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

A young girl and baby at a camp in Takht Bai. Credit: REUTERS/ Faisal Mahmood courtesy alertnet.org

Save the Children has mounted a wide-scale effort to meet the needs of children in the NWFP, providing health services and essential hygiene and household supplies to families who had to abruptly leave their homes and livelihoods.

"Pakistan is facing the largest mass displacement of people since Partition  — and children are caught in the middle of a chaotic and dangerous situation," said Ned Olney who heads Save the Children's humanitarian response efforts globally. "Children and adults have fled for their lives for miles over difficult terrain and into very precarious circumstances, with little but the clothes on their back. They lack the basics and need our help to get them through these difficult times."

More than 1.4 million children and adults have fled fighting near their homes in the last two weeks. This brings the total number of people displaced from the restive region since August 2008 to over 2 million — more than 1 million of them children.

Save the Children has provided more than 10,000 people, among them 6,000 children, with essential supplies — including a water bucket, flashlight, cooking and eating utensils, soap, toothbrushes and washcloths. The agency also has provided medical assistance to more than 3,100 people. Save the Children also will provide protection and temporary education programs.

Save the Children has worked in Pakistan for more than 30 years, helping to improve the lives and well-being of Afghan refugees and Pakistani children and women. The agency has a strong portfolio of health, education and emergency response programs, while continuing to address the needs of Afghan children and families who remain in Pakistan. Save the Children also is working in areas affected by the 2005 earthquake. 

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Save the Children is the leading independent organization that creates lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. Save the Children USA is a member of the International Save the Children Alliance, a global network of 27 independent Save the Children organizations working to ensure the well-being and protection of children in more than 120 countries. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.