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UNHCR gives tents to new government camp in Islamabad

October 31, 2005

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, October 31 (UNHCR) - The UN refugee agency this weekend provided relief items to support a government-run camp for earthquake survivors in the Pakistani capital

A total of 500 UNHCR lightweight family tents were handed over to Pakistan's Capital Development Authority (CDA), to start a temporary camp at Shakar Parian in Islamabad. When completed mid-week, the site will have a capacity for some 10,000 people displaced by the earthquake in Azad Kashmir and North West Frontier Province, say CDA officials. One of the tents has been pitched as an informal school at an existing CDA camp in Islamabad's H-11 sector. The remaining tents were moved to the new site at Shakar Parian when the H-11 camp hit its maximum capacity of 7,000 people.

Displaced children at the H-11 camp will be able to attend classes in the UNHCR tent © UNHCR/B. Baloch

CDA says there are some 10 medical camps run by the government in and around Islamabad for people evacuated to the capital's hospitals from quake-hit areas. UNHCR has so far provided relief supplies, and stands ready to provide technical support if needed.

Most of the UN refugee agency's relief efforts are concentrated in the country's north. As head of the camp management cluster, UNHCR is involved in the set-up and coordination of 12 camps in Balakot, Batagram and Muzaffarabad, hosting nearly 10,000 earthquake survivors in all.