Todd Shea of CDRS Pakistan, with whom I’ll be speaking at the APPNA convention on July 3, gave a briefing at the Wilson Center in DC on Friday. Here’s an excerpt:

“Shea said that while approximately 3 million Pakistanis have been displaced, only about 300,000 are in IDP camps. The other 2.7 million have been absorbed by host communities, with the majority based in Mardan, a district near Swat and Buner. Shea lambasted large relief agencies for overlooking these 2.7 million IDPs and the “internally affected persons” who are serving as hosts. The host communities, most of them impoverished and struggling to secure basic resources even before the arrival of the IDPs, are now stretched to the limit. Many homes in Mardan have taken in as many as 40 IDPs, and schools have been closed to accommodate the influx of refugees.

“As for the IDPs themselves, Shea did not mince words. Supplies are running out, and the threat of disease is high. According to Shea, 60,000-70,000 displaced women are expected to give birth in the next month.”