Islamabad/Peshawar (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Pakistan Red Crescent Society have launched the first stage of an extensive economic assistance programme for families affected by violence in Malakand Division.

The programme is the largest recovery effort undertaken by the organizations in this part of the country in relation to the current crisis.

Over 315,000 people will receive wheat seed and fertilizer in Dir and Buner as part of the programme.

ICRC specialists will work closely with local experts to monitor the progress of the crop until its harvest next May, when most families are expected to be self-reliant again.

Until then, the ICRC and the Pakistan Red Crescent will continue to provide those most in need with food.

"We have provided emergency assistance since late May, but our priority today is to help Malakand families to rapidly become self-reliant," said Pascal Cuttat, the head of the ICRC delegation in Pakistan.

"We expect this programme to help kick-start local agriculture and boost small business, which is indispensable if the people affected are to lead dignified lives." "We would like to eventually extend this programme to Swat but are unable do so at the moment," said Muhammad Sheikh Ali, the head of the ICRC's economic security programme in Pakistan.

"Assistance on this scale requires direct supervision, and at present we are not yet assured of continuous access." The economy in this part of the North-West Frontier Province was shattered by months of heavy fighting earlier this year, which destroyed infrastructure and forced over two million residents to flee their homes.

Not only were they not able to harvest their wheat crops, but they also lost livestock, ran down their savings, and often contracted debts.

Most families have now returned to their homes, but their efforts to rebuild their lives are seriously hampered by lack of resources.

The ICRC and the Pakistan Red Crescent have provided aid for close to a million people adversely affected by violence in Malakand Division since late April.

The organizations intend to continue to bring aid to people in Malakand but will only able to do so if they can maintain regular and unimpeded access to the areas concerned.

For further information, please contact:
Sébastien Brack, ICRC Islamabad, tel: +92 300 850 81 38
Simon Schorno, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 79 251 9302

See also ICRC media contacts

This article on www.icrc.org

[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]