Challenges of Food Distribution Process for Internally Displaced Persons in Non-governmental Organizations: An Ethnographic Study

Abstract

This ethnographic discourse highlights the problems and challenges of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as explores the food distribution procedure. At the same time, the study also exposes the intolerance of international and national NGO employees and workers because the rights of IDPs are not protected during the food distribution process. The real effort of the international agencies is to manage and rehabilitate the situation of ceasefire from conflict circumstance to the relief settlement. The study used an ethnographic inquiry method in district Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, depending upon two key consultants and one focus group interview as well as one focus group discussion with a total of twenty (n=20) participants. The interview guide was used for the data collection. The data were analyzed through NVivo 12 Plus software and also manually analyzed with inductive thematic analysis approach with open coding, noting repeated themes, keywords, and critical events interpreted into different categories. The study concludes that the IDPs were not satisfied with the aid/food distribution procedures of NGOs. It was recommended that the government should evaluate the role of NGOs with the help of district social welfare officers and conduct descriptive research regarding the food distribution process.