ACT News Update

South Asia 0205

Geneva, October 10, 2005—As the extent of damage and number of deaths becomes more apparent following Saturday morning’s powerful earthquake in Pakistan, members of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International continue to provide immediate relief to survivors while preparing for a major, organized response.

The ACT member in the region where the quake hit, Church World Service Pakistan/Afghanistan (CWS P/A), began responding to the situation immediately and was able to send food items to the most-affected areas of Pakistan - Azad Kashmir and North West Frontier Province (NWFP) - yesterday evening to assist 1,600 families. The food items included wheat flour, rice, pulses, sugar, cooking oil, tea and salt. Match boxes and soap were also provided to the families.

CWS P/A reports that health camps in affected areas to serve 50,000 to 100,000 people are in the process of being set up. CWS P/A is also chair of the Humanitarian Forum in Pakistan and was one of the first organizations to call for a coordination meeting of the forum’s members. At the meeting it was decided to immediately send three teams to Azad Kashmir and NWFP to carry out a needs-assessment survey. The teams are in the field now, and the information they gather directly in the field will form the basis of the response by CWS P/A and other organizations.

ACT member Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) is sending a staff member to Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, to coordinate with CWS P/A as well as NCA’s own office in the Peshawar area and partners it has in Pakistan. The NCA staff member will also visit affected areas with CWS P/A staff in the coming days for assessments and planning. NCA’s Afghanistan relief coordinator is also en route to Pakistan, together with a water and sanitation consultant for assessments and strengthening of the operation. In addition, NCA is communicating with ACT members Church of Sweden and U.S.-based Presbyterian Disaster Assistance regarding a possible psycho-social intervention if it is deemed necessary in the future.

ACT members around the world are receiving donations from their constituencies and indicating pledges toward the response to the quake. The ACT Coordinating Office in Geneva is expecting to issue an appeal for several million U.S. dollars within the next 24 hours from CWS P/A and is sending funds immediately as an advance to this appeal and to cover the immediate assistance CWS P/A has provided. CWS P/A is planning to assist 15,000 families with food items, shelter kits and house reconstruction kits, which will consist of a tent, one ground sheet, plastic sheeting, iron beams and poles, cement, windows, and a door. The appeal will also include costs for running the health camps.