Portland, OR \u2013 In response to an estimated half\u2010million new internally displaced
people in Pakistan, the global relief and development agency Mercy Corps has
procured more than 1,100 emergency supply kits ready for distribution to families
in need. Members of Mercy Corps\u2019 11\u2010person emergency response team expects to
deliver the supplies tomorrow in Pakistan\u2019s Northwest Frontier Province, where
intensifying fighting between the Army and Taliban militants has triggered
widespread displacement.

Mercy Corps\u2019 initial assessment team identified urgent supply needs over the
weekend and quickly secured emergency relief items for underserved displaced
families. Tomorrow, two eight\u2010ton trucks will deliver the emergency kits, which
include feminine hygiene products, soap, blankets and mosquito nets.

The response team is also assessing needs in five transitional sites to help guide the
agency\u2019s continued response. Mercy Corps expects to address families' need for
clean water and safe sanitation as they take refuge in existing villages.

\u201cWith about 80% of the displaced population living outside formal displacement
camps, Mercy Corps is working to reach people that currently lack access to
humanitarian assistance in host communities,\u201d said John Stephens, Mercy Corps\u2019
senior program officer for South Asia. \u201cAfter the distribution of supplies tomorrow
morning we anticipate working to establish a presence in two districts with large
populations of internally displaced people to meet their immediate emergency
needs before moving onto recovery programming.\u201d

Approximately 360,000 Pakistanis have fled their homes in recent days in what the
United Nations has called a \u201cmassive displacement.\u201d An estimated 500,000 are
expected in all, joining another 550,000 people who've fled their homes in the
province since last August. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of