International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

The World Health Organization (WHO) says emergency funding is needed to provide life-saving care for more than three million displaced people living in temporary camps in Pakistan.

It claims the health sector has received just 11 per cent of the funding it needs to manage the crisis caused by warfare in the north-west of the country.

Citing figures published by the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA), the WHO says around 69,300 pregnant women have been driven out of their homes, of which 6,000 are due to give birth during the next four weeks.

It adds that at least 900 will require emergency obstetric care to handle pregnancy-related complications and could die if funding is not made available to provide this.

The WHO adds: "The fragile health status of host communities, as well as the health systems that serve them, are being threatened by the rapid increase in numbers of internally displaced people and their settlements."

Last month, UNPFA expressed similar concerns about the health of pregnant women and newborns in Sri Lanka, as the country's 26-year civil war drew to an end.