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ACT Situation ReportPakistan 16/05Pakistan earthquake: CWS-ACT responseGeneva, December 12, 2005 Information supplied by ACT member Church World Service (Pakistan/Afghanistan office) General situation
The October 8 earthquake destroyed more than 203,000 dwellings and damaged an additional 197,000 to the point of being uninhabitable. Of the total housing, 84 percent was damaged or destroyed in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and 36 percent in North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Approximately 3.5 million people, 85 percent of whom come from rural communities, have effectively become homeless, with many living in tents not designed for freezing conditions or stuck in isolated areas that are hard for aid agencies to reach. An estimated 400,000 people are now thought to be aid-dependent in the highland zone (5,000-7,000 ft.). According to the Federal Relief Commissioner, 53,850 shelters for survivors have been completed, and another 34,975 are under construction, while NGOs have also constructed more than 2,100 shelters. At lower altitudes, existing tents are being reinforced with additional insulation. Dry shelters in the lower regions will be constructed after December 15. Sixty-nine thousand tons of food, 1,700 tons of medicines, 676,701 tents and quilts, 4.59 million blankets and other items have been distributed through the Federal Relief Commission. Seventy-four field hospitals and 69 medical teams are operating in the affected areas, while 128,416 individuals have been treated at various hospitals, and 3,665 others were admitted to hospitals. However, there is no change in the death toll of 73,331. A spokesperson for the Federal Relief Commission said that Rs. 11 billion (approx. US$184.2 million) are being distributed to quake survivors; the NWFP government has distributed Rs. 5 billion (approx. US$83.7) of this. In the first phase, compensation of Rs. 25,000 (US$419) has been distributed for destroyed houses. In the second phase, a uniform amount will be given. The overall cost associated with the earthquake is estimated at US$5.2 billion, which includes costs for relief, livelihood support for survivors and reconstruction. The UN children’s agency has ordered 100,000 kits—containing shoes, jackets, scarves and other cold-weather gear—for children from 18 months to 18 years of age. Initially these winter kits are being given to children in remote areas and are also being dispatched to people living in the highlands. About 54,000 kits have arrived so far, with 30,000 being distributed in Bagh and 20,000 in the Muzaffarabad region. The World Food Program (WFP) and the Pakistani government have agreed that the agency should take on responsibility for providing emergency food to 400,000 people who can be reached only by air, doubling the previous target of 200,000. WFP has also accepted responsibility for providing food to 600,000 people who can be reached by land - including 250,000 living in camps; 150,000 children in tented schools; and a further 150,000 children under five; and nursing and pregnant mothers who will receive supplementary feeding. In addition to the 1.3 million people assisted by WFP, the government will provide assistance to 3 million people and ICRC will help 150,000 others. Church World Service (CWS)-ACT response For the current emergency phase, CWS has set up three emergency field offices in Mansehra, Chattar Plains and Rawalakot. Relief efforts are carried out from these offices. CWS-ACT’s emergency program has partially completed its emergency-response phase, and the groundwork for the recovery and rehabilitation phase is being laid. CWS-ACT plans to assist affected families by providing assistance in rebuilding their houses from the rubble of their damaged/destroyed houses. As of November 30, CWS has provided 9,373 families with shelter kits and 6,270 families with food packages and is running one basic health unit in Rawalakot. CWS has provided 1,000 families with tents in Maira camp and is assisting 184 families (1,281 individuals) at the Shohal Najaf tent village, where people continue to arrive in hopes of finding shelter and better living conditions as winter continues to set in. According to the registration figures from the families in the village, one-third of the families are from Jared, one-third is from Muzaffarabad, and the remaining one-third is from Balakot. The CWS team met with the male representatives of the pre-defined clusters within the Shohal Najaf tent village. The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss environmental protection in the tent village. The present scenario of the management being handed over to the civil administration was also discussed, as the village’s residents were greatly concerned about the situation. The CWS psychosocial care team met with the women representatives of the clusters in the tent village. The meeting was aimed at gathering feedback on how the women were adjusting to the changes in their lives after the earthquake. According to the team, the confidence level of the affected women is building, and their lives are gradually improving. However, the women report feeling uneasy and insecure over the change in the village management. The CWS team met with the new administration of the camp, mainly to highlight the role of CWS-ACT in the establishment of the tent village and to update the administration on the activities that have been initiated. The CWS team also defined the role, partnership and collaboration of CWS-Pakistan-Afghanistan with ACT member Norwegian Church Aid and how the two have been working in close collaboration with each other. The CWS team learned that the new administration will be deploying the Frontier Core Forces to ensure security within the camp. A health and hygiene trainer with CWS has began work to ensure that all health and hygiene aspects are taken into consideration in the Shohal Najaf tent village. She will be training the residents of the tent village in the coming days. The CWS team has identified certain shortcomings in the village and has taken steps to resolve these issues, such as the need for a drainage line. The team has also identified garbage-collection points in the tent village to help minimize any prevailing health hazards. So far, 60 latrines have been put up in the Shawal Najaf tent village. Twenty-nine washrooms have also been set up, and hygiene training is also being given to the residents. Five water-collection points are operational, and two have been separately erected for the use by women. Electricity has been provided to more than half the residents of the tent village, and work is still in progress. So far, out of the 13 proposed water and sanitation projects, seven projects in AJK and NWFP have been completed. The CWS distribution team distributed 127 food packages to the most vulnerable people of Mera Amjad Ali, Chahamra Goda and Kangar Nakka villages, Mansehra district. One thousand tents have been dispatched to Maira Camp in response to a request by the army. The distribution team also carried out assessments in Balakot city and the surrounding areas. Another 100 susceptible families were identified and given coupons following the distribution team’s assessments. These recipients were identified from Usmanabad village, Union Council Shinkiari, Mansehra district. On Dec. 5, the CWS distribution team went for assessments and gave coupons to 141 vulnerable families in Kot Bahlla village in Union Council Talhiata, Mansehra district. The CWS team also carried out assessments in Badal and Kotla villages, Union Council Karori, Tehsil Oghi, Mansehra; 224 vulnerable families were issued coupons for relief items. The army has requested 3,000 shelter kits - 1,000 for Maira Camp, 2,000 for Batgram, and 1,000 tents for Bisham. Fifteen boxes of medicines were sent to the Rawalakot basic health unit as per needs. The medical team has estimated that an average of 200 patients are being treated daily within the unit. Some of the local residents have commented that this is the only operational basic health unit in which they can see a qualified doctor and nurse. Meetings and visitors The 20th meeting of the Pakistan Humanitarian Forum was held at the CWS Islamabad office. The latest updates from the participating organizations were shared, and deep concern was expressed over the rising psychological problems being faced by survivors. An expert from the Pakistan Meteorological Department reported to the forum that this winter is expected to be harsher than the previous one, especially in earthquake-affected areas, and will last until the beginning of April. Mr. Petri Lehtonen from the Embassy of Finland and Mr. George Boota from the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission visited the CWS-ACT tent village in Shohal Najaf and Maira Camp. The main purpose of the visit was to see where the tents donated by ACT member FinnChurchAid were being used and to assess the future needs of the quake-affected people. Girls from the Army Burn Hall School, Abbottabad visited the CWS-ACT Shohal Najaf tent village and interacted with the residents. Their visit was part of a support program to show solidarity with the people who were affected by the earthquake.
Visit the Web site of Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan for regular updates. Also, the Web site of the Pakistan Humanitarian Forum, which CWS is part of, is now operational and contains useful information about the NGO response to the earthquake.
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