DELEGATION IN PAKISTAN TO FINALISE ALLOCATION OF URGENTLY NEEDED FUNDS

A technical and legal mission of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has arrived from Saudi Arabia to discuss the allocation of the Kingdom's generous US$100 million pledge to provide assistance to Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in Pakistan.

The team will examine the various proposals made by the UN Agencies for the allocation of the funds and will finalise the details of the $100 million pledge.

Once the funds are committed this will become the single largest contribution for Pakistan's humanitarian emergency response.

"The visiting team comprises technical and legal experts and they are here for a week to finalise the projects for which the grant will be disbursed." said Manuel Bessler, Head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Pakistan.

Millions of people have been affected by the insecurity and ongoing hostilities. Humanitarian assistance is needed for those who are still displaced, those who are newly displaced, those who have returned to their areas of origin, those who never left the conflict-affected areas and the families providing shelter for IDPs.

The UN has provided assistance to more than 3.3 million people who have been displaced in the past year. 1.95 million have now returned home but still require help, as do the 1.4 million who remain IDPs. Ongoing military operations are also still triggering new displacements.

More than four months in, only 28 percent of the $537 million requested in the Pakistan Humanitarian Response Plan has been funded. When this timely and sizeable contribution from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is fully allocated the appeal would be brought up to almost 50% funded.

For further information, please call: OCHA Pakistan:

Dumeetha Luthra, mobile +92 300 850 2397, luthra@un.org;

OCHA New York: Stephanie Bunker, + 1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 347 244 2106, bunker@un.org; \

Nicholas Reader, +1 212 963 4961, mobile +1 646 752 3117, reader@un.org

OCHA-Geneva: Elizabeth Byrs, +41 22 917 2653, mobile +41 79 473 4570, byrs @un.org