Pakistan Humanitarian Bulletin 2 (14 Oct 2010)

8/8/2019 Pakistan Humanitarian Bulletin 2 (14 Oct 2010)

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OCHA Pakistan, Serena Business Complex, Sector G-5, Islamabad, Pakistan Tel +92 (51) 2600254-5 www.pakresponse.info

I. SITUATION OVERVIEW

Flood-affected persons 20.2 million

Houses damaged/destroyed 1.9 million

Agricultural land damaged 2.2 million hectaresSource: NDMA 14 Oct. 2010

SindhIn northern Sindh, returns have started mainly in threedistricts (Kashmore, Jacobabad and Shikarpur). Insouthern Sindh, return movements are taking placewithin Thatta district. Overall return movements inSindh include an estimated 386,547 flood affected-people out of a reported 1.4 million who were living incamps and informal settlements. Whilst returns aretaking place in parts of southern Sindh, in some areas,such as Dadu district, people remain trapped bystagnant flood waters, and require urgent support.There are also reports of people returning home andfacing secondary displacement as a result of lack of

contaminated water sources and lack of access tobasic services.

Provincial authorities estimate that around 1.4 millionpeople have been living in informal settlements andorganised camps, including schools. Closure of schoolsthat have functioned as temporary shelter for IDPs isongoing, creating new demands on the provincialauthorities and the humanitarian community to ensureappropriate conditions in the relocation of IDPs tocamps, as well as voluntary and informed returns.

A young girl displaced by the f loods sits in her familys tent at a camp insouthern Sindh (photo: Stacey Winston/OCHA)

Just over half of the 4,788 camp sites recentlyassessed have camp coordination structures in place.The provincial authorities in partnership with the CampCoordination and Camp Management cluster launcheda profiling exercise of affected groups this week.

Loading food for distribution onto a WFP/UNHAS helicopter in

Hyderabad Sindh: (Photo: Shane Doherty/OCHA)

Priority areas identified for intervention in Sindhinclude: food assistance, and provision of emergencyshelter, water, sanitation and health services. Districtcoordination structures are now in place in sevendistricts. However, there is a need to strengthen thedistrict level coordination presence of all clusters.Among the biggest challenges is the lack of operationalpartners, particularly in southern Sindh. Safety andsecurity of humanitarian workers in northern Sindhcontinues to be of concern.

Kyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and FederallyAdministered Tribal Areas (FATA)Access to most parts of the flood affected northerndistricts has improved. However, mass transportation ofrelief items to some areas (upper Swat and Kohistan) isnot possible due to poor road conditions. The inter-cluster winter contingency plan for KPK province isbeing developed, under the leadership of the ProvincialDisaster Management Authority, with support fromOCHA. An interagency security and rapid needsassessment mission in South Waziristan wasundertaken in order to ascertain the feasibility of

returns of conflict-affected displaced persons from

Issue 2/14 October 2010

Highlights

Return movements in Sindh province include an estimated 386,547 flood affected-people out of areported 1.4 million who were living in camps and informal settlements

The Floods Emergency Response Plan and Pakistan Humanitarian Response Plan are funded at 34 percent and 46 per cent of the requirements respectively

Coordination hubs are up and running in four flood-affected provinces (Balochistan, KPK, Punjab, andSindh)


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Weekly Humanitarian Bulletin


14 October/ Issue 2

these areas, currently hosted in D.I. Khan and Tankdistricts. In addition, a survey on return intentions ofconflict-affected displaced people from SouthWaziristan will be launched this week.

PunjabA large majority of people have returned to their placesof origin in Punjab. However, some remain displacedand are unable to return due to loss of agriculturallands and livelihoods in areas of origin. Moreinformation is being collected about seven informal IDPsettlements recently identified, and planning efforts inthe framework of the inter-agency Survival Strategyare ongoing. In parallel, initial inter-cluster winterpreparedness planning is underway. Coordination huboffices have been established covering seven of theworst-affected districts (Layyah, Muzaffargarh,

Mianwali, Bhakkar, D.G. Khan, Rajanpur and RahimYar Khan). The need for humanitarian coordinationsupport in other affected districts of southern Punjab isalso being assessed.

BalochistanOver 380,000 people are still displaced in Balochistanby the floods, according to estimates from theprovincial authorities. There are reports of spontaneousreturns as well as returns organised by the districtauthorities. As in other provinces affected by theflooding, secondary displacements are being reportedin some areas. In Naseerbad district, people returningdo not have accommodation as their houses aredamaged and are therefore seeking support in camps.In Balochistan, key concerns include addressing theneeds of women and children in camps particularly astemporary sites become formalized and many men optto move back home or closer to their homes to guardproperty or when possible to rebuild. A wintercontingency planning process is ongoing..

II. CLUSTER RESPONSE

AgricultureDistribution of wheat and vegetable seed as well asfertilizer forrabi (autumn) planting has begun in Punjab,

and will start shortly in KPK, Balochistan and Sindh.The veterinary support and supplementary animal feedis also underway. As irrigation and drainage channelshave been under water for an extended period,assessments will be carried out to ascertain repairs andrehabilitation required. Under the revised responseplan, the cluster seeks to reach 689,050 householdswith provisions of wheat and vegetable seed andfertilizer, as well as animal feed and veterinary supportand rehabilitation of irrigation channels. FAO isassisting over 532,000 flood affected families to plantwheat, support livestock of 163,410 families, andrehabilitate or repair small-scale irrigation systems

benefitting approximately 19,000 households.

Camp Coordination and Camp Management

In response to the closure of schools, agreements for

camps are underway in Sukkur, Larkana, QambarShehdadkot, Jacobabad and Thatta districts. Regularassessments are planned in follow up to last weeksassessment of over 4,780 sites. The cluster planstraining and capacity building of partners and localauthorities. UNHCR has dispatched a surge team toSouthern Sindh, and is distributing more than 7,500tents in Sukkur, Larkana, Qambar Shahdadkot,Jacobabad and Thatta to fill immediate gaps. In KPK,the cluster is conducting an assessment of families inspontaneous camps and collective centres. All thefamilies in KPK's Kandaro one camp returned to theirhome areas after receiving the WATAN cards andtents from the DCO office. Some 250 families remain inKandaro 2. The Baloch Rural Support Programme isestablishing mobile teams and undertaking a CCCMassessment in Balochistan.

EducationPriorities include scaling up an integrated educationresponse, and educational support to children in campsand in areas of origin in Sindh province. Criticalconcerns are provision of psychosocial support for allchildren and getting children back to school. Thecluster is supporting over 111,800 children acrossPakistan through temporary learning centres,educational supplies, and the

rehabilitation/refurbishment of schools (estimated at10,044 flood affected schools). In KPK and Balochistanall flood affected schools where IDPs sheltered havebeen vacated. More than 216,800 people are stillsheltering in schools in Sindh. IRC has rehabilitatedeight schools in Nowshera in KPK benefiting some2,000 children. Save the Children has startedrefurbishment of 150 schools in D G khan, Rajanpurand Muzaffargarh in Punjab. A cluster planningworkshop was held to develop district education plans.Key challenges are roll out of an integrated responseplan at national and provincial levels.

Food SecurityPriorities remain coordinated food delivery in affectedareas, the introduction of unconditional cash transfersand scaling up of early recovery activities (e.g. food forwork and supplementary feeding). WFP is providingover 65 per cent of the current food assistance and isexpecting a pipeline break (all commodities exceptwheat flour and pulses) if the $167 million October toJanuary requirements are not met. Preliminary resultsof rapid needs assessments suggest that 10 millionpeople are in need of immediate food assistance. Alongwith the Government, the cluster is providing monthlyfood relief to an estimated 8 million people. As of 12

October, over 2.2 million people have received monthly


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rations. Key challenges include, uninterrupted fooddistributions in priority districts, the winterization andconsequent access constraints and prepositioning ofstocks in hard to access areas, and tracking of

returning populations.

HealthFloods damaged an estimated 558 health facilities. Thepriority is to rehabilitate permanent health facilities inareas of origin of the flood affected. The cluster isimplementing a Health Resources Availability MappingSystem to provide information on existing healthfacilities. In response to the huge number of severelymalnourishment cases in Sindh, WHO has establishedstabilization centres in Jamshoro, Hyderabad andMitiari. Disease Early Warning System teams arecollaborating with the Government and with other

partners to identify malaria hotspots and respondrapidly with medicines and vector control measures.Acute diarrhoea continues to be of concern in floodaffected areas, while some 10 cases of cholera werealso reported and responded to in Kot Addu. In theflood response so far, WHO has provided essentialmedicine cover to 5.2 million people which alsoincludes diarrhoea treatment medicines. Sixty oneDiarrhoea Treatment Centres are operational in theaffected districts.

ProtectionGrowing concerns are related to the forced return or

eviction of flood affected families from camps orschools, such as the cases of Labour Square, GadapTown, Gulshan-e-Maymar, in Karachi. Interventionswith the authorities have taken place to stress thehumanitarian principles of return, and encourage amore coordinated and planned relocation plan. Thelatest figures from NADRA indicate that 564,224families have been processed for WATAN cardissuance. Of which 236,253 families were processed inthe past week across Punjab, Sindh and KPK. Nearly 6billion PKR are disbursed to beneficiaries in relation tothis process. However, reports of flood affecteesunable to benefit from the registration, or facing

problems while trying to access funds are frequent.Furthermore certain flood affected locations such as inBahawalpur remain unregistered which needs urgentlyto be addressed.

NutritionThe cluster has expanded its activities. Currently 26stabilisation centres, 123 outpatient therapeutic feedingprogramme and 96 supplementary feedingprogrammes are established in KPK, Balochistan,Punjab and Sindh provinces. These feedingprogrammes have so far reached 3,728 severelymalnourished and 13,360 moderately malnourished

children. An additional 113,000 children at risk of

malnutrition have been reached with nutrient rich readyto use food. So far, 300 doctors, nurses and femalehealth workers have been trained on Community basedManagement of Acute Malnutrition. Key challenges

include limited in-country capacity to manage acutemalnutrition and tracing of malnourished children whilethe population is returning back to their places of origin.

Shelter and NFIsThe cluster is finalizing the winterization strategy thisweek. One room shelters will be recommendedwherever possible as well as winterization kits toupgrade emergency shelter. Several cluster membersare piloting a one room strategy to gather lessonslearned and refine methodology prior to countrywideimplementation. Cluster members have distributed261,498 tents and 439,745 plastic tarpaulins serving

480,757 families (25 per cent of the estimated need).Further distribution includes 45,738 toolkits, 730,024blankets, 187,338 kitchen sets and 102,375 beddingsets and mats. There is a need for clear and consistentpolicy and messages regarding eligibility for the cashcompensation scheme. Reports have been received offamilies being unable to return or rebuild as they fearthey will become ineligible. A countrywide masscommunications program will target this issue. Lack ofemergency shelter supplies in country continues to bean issue.

Emergency Telecommunications

The cluster is currently providing services in Islamabad,Peshawar, Quetta, Lahore, Abbottabad, Muzaffarabad,Karachi, Buner, Multan, Sukkur, Hyderabad and Swatwith plans of extension to Sibi and D I Khan. Keychallenges the cluster faces include security andimportation of telecommunications equipment.

WASHThe situation is changing rapidly as the affectedpopulations move back to their places of origin.Keeping up with the movement of people andaddressing their need at places of origin is placingstress on resources. The cluster estimates that around

one-third of the total affected population is in need ofimmediate WASH services. Clean water coverage is upbut not significantly and the cluster is reaching only 50per cent of the target population. The cluster still needsto reach over 95 per cent of the population with latrines,hygiene promotion and NFIs. Clean water is beingdelivered to over 3.8 million people, hygiene promotionis reaching more than 1.8 million, and latrines areprovided to 623,360 people. Lack of baselineinformation is a major challenge. Needs assessmentsfocusing on WASH issues are planned for places oforigin.

LOGISTICS


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The Cluster has facilitated airlifts of 5,906 mt of relief inPakistan since August 2010. Air operations are nowfacilitated from Ghazi, Khwazakhela, Besham, Multan,Sukkur, Pano Aqil, Nawabshah, and Hyderabad.11

organisations have used these services. The Clustercontinues to make storage facilities available inPeshawar, Besham, Khwazakhela, Sukkur, Chaklala,Hyderabad, Multan, Nawabshah. Helicopter stagingpoints are set up around the country. There arecurrently eight UNHAS helicopters operating in Sindhprovince. A previously closed road into Kalam fromBahrain is now open. There still are locations in UpperSwat and Kohistan which will need air lifts. The routeinto Kalam from Dir is now open. The road will closeintermittently in snow, and there is thus a requirementto pre-position items in Kalam. The road from Shikarpurto Thul via Kandhkhot is now open for all types of

traffic.

Mass CommunicationsThe programme will expand into Balochistan, PakistanAdministered Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan region. TheIOM mass communications team has also developed awebsite to coordinate all mass communications

activities and to streamline messages for thehumanitarian community. Recent informationcampaigns for the flood affected population include:flood safety, child protection, information on returns,

compensation schedules, registration and messageson health and hygiene issues.

III. FUNDING

According to OCHAs Financial Tracking Service (FTS)the revised Floods Emergency Response Plan is 34percent (US$688,645,017 of requirements) funded.Underfunding is of particular concern in the CommunityRestoration (4 percent coverage), Education (9percent) and CCCM (16 percent) clusters. 46 percentof the $661 million required under the Pakistan

Humanitarian Response Plan 2010 has been received.Detailed information on funds committed and pledgedagainst both response plans is available on the FTSwebsite, at:http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/fts.nsf/doc105?OpenForm&rc=3&cc=pak

Contact InformationOCHA, IslamabadManuel BesslerHead of Office [email protected] Winston Public Information [email protected]+92 300 850 2690OCHA, New YorkSeverine Rey [email protected]+1 917 403 7960OCHA, GenevaRanda Hassan [email protected] +41 79 602 3598

Documents

Pakistan Humanitarian Bulletin 2 (14 Oct 2010)