 |
|
|
|||||||||
 |
 |
||||||||||
 |
 |
||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ACT Situation ReportPakistan 01/06Pakistan earthquake: CWS-ACT responseGeneva, January 2, 2006 Information supplied by ACT member Church World Service (Pakistan/Afghanistan office) General situation Reuters was reporting yesterday (January 1) that snow and rain across northern Pakistan had grounded relief flights. But aid workers were optimistic that the relief operations since the quake would sustain most of the quake survivors through the winter. While the air relief flights were grounded for only the second time this winter, some deliveries were still being made by road. Pakistan’s Federal Relief Commissioner reported that more than 9,000 people are still missing from the earthquake, with the majority of them in North West Frontier Province (NWFP). According to Pakistan’s prime minister, US$300 million has been approved for restoration of infrastructure in quake-hit areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and NWFP. The government is documenting a detailed reconstruction plan and giving priority to housing, health, education, public works, construction of government buildings, power, transport, water supply and sanitation, communication, livestock and dairy, furniture, value-added services and creating employment opportunities in quake-hit areas. Shortly after the October 8 earthquake, the Pakistani government made a decision to pay cash to the earthquake survivors. The quick infusion of cash is enabling people to start rebuilding their houses and their lives. Payments are being made for loss of shelter (Rs. 175,000 – approx. US$3,100); death of a family member (Rs. 100,000 – approx. US$1,760 per family); and injuries (Rs. 15,000 to 50,000, with maximum payments going to amputees). Pakistan’s military has provided 150,000 shelters, while civilian organizations and NGOs have provided 70,000 shelters for use at 5,000 feet and below. Pakistani army engineers have cleared almost 95 percent of the roads in all affected areas, while 75 percent of the water-supply schemes and 70 percent of the electricity have also been restored. More than 112,000 people have been immunized so far as part of the additional immunization campaign aimed at fortifying the defense of earthquake survivors against various diseases. This focused campaign is in addition to the immunizations that covered more than 850,000 survivors immediately after the earthquake. The Ministry of Health has assembled special teams to look at the general hygiene, sanitation and quality of water used in camps and to assess the risk of communicable diseases. The teams are working around the clock in the affected areas, and more than 15 camps are being covered every week in AJK, NWFP, Islamabad Capital Territory, Chakwal and Fateh Jang. Church World Service (CWS)-ACT response Summary of CWS’s distributions:
The CWS field team distributed 150 tents, 600 blankets, 600 shawls and 50 sheets to 150 vulnerable families in the villages of Gul Maira and Lundai, Mansehra Tehsil and District. The team also identified 206 vulnerable families in the villages of Dhulla Maira and Dharmang, union council Dhudayal, Tehsil and Mansehra District, who are currently living without any appropriate shelter. Based on the needs identification, shelter kits were given to these 206 families. CWS’s senior program advisor met with some of the male residents of the Shohal Najaf tent village to discuss initial recovery and reconstruction plans. Some at the meeting shared their concern about the tents not being able to withstand snow and rain in the coming weeks, whereas others expressed concern at not receiving the tin sheets for housing being distributed in the villages while they are residing in camps. The CWS staff assured them that when CWS provides recovery services, it tries to cover all beneficiaries on an equal basis. Discussing the long-term rehabilitation plans, he said that CWS teams will conduct assessments at the village level to find out what skills people need to acquire to facilitate the recovery phase. He added that community groups will be formed to work on reconstruction and recovery. Camp residents expressed their willingness to participate in activities like removing debris and transporting materials from the main road to the villages. At the meeting, the tent village residents also expressed their appreciation of the services being provided by the CWS psychosocial team, as well as their confidence and trust in CWS. The CWS hygiene team met with the tent village’s residents individually about the challenges they are facing. The team provided bars of soap to the village’s management for distribution. The team distributed spades and plastic bags to residents for placing in garbage buckets around the village and conducted a follow-up visit to washing and water points. The CWS team also met with the tent village’s manager and discussed the preparation of the budget for the next quarter. The team reports that the planning of the community kitchen has been completed and that construction will begin shortly. The CWS psychosocial team met with women residents and discussed the construction of the community kitchen. They shared their interest in getting involved in the design and implementation process of the kitchen. The CWS hygiene team met with residents of the Maira, Battagram tent village December 19 to 22 to introduce a hygiene program like the one at the Shohal Najaf tent village. The team identified water points, marked the latrines, and examined the tube well. Meetings on the subject of hygiene were held separately with the men and women of the camp. Volunteers for distribution of brooms in latrines were also selected. To enhance the outreach of the CWS psychosocial program, an eight-member female team has joined the CWS office in Manshera. A brief training workshop was organized for these new staff members. The facilitators of the workshop explained the concepts and tools for relationship-building, listing and questioning skills. Guidelines for group formation during training and mobilization were also shared with them. Meetings and visitors The UN camp management cluster meeting was held on December 26 in Islamabad. It was shared that UNHCR’s distribution of blankets and plastic sheeting began on December 18 in AJK and NWFP. UNHCR is also distributing non-food items to both planned and spontaneous camps. A handout on fire safety and winterization, which has been translated into Urdu, is available on the HIC Web site and is being distributed to camps. The World Food Program (WFP) has so far covered 65 percent of the planned 90,787. A shelter cluster meeting was held on December 28 at the International Organization for Migration office in Mansehra. The cluster members shared their plans and stressed the importance of cooperation in order to ensure effective and timely recovery for survivors. The cluster members are planning to launch a needs-based assessment survey in the remote affected areas. A ten-member team from the cluster will be formed to carry out the assessment. Another general cluster meeting was held on December 29 in Mansehra. Participants discussed their recovery and reconstruction plans in detail. It was highlighted that there is an urgent need to disseminate information about fire safety to quake survivors. The emergency shelter cluster reported that UNHCR will also translate the fire-safety guidelines into Pashto and stressed that NGOs should make fire safety part of their existing programs. Discussions are underway about an early recovery framework and intercultural approaches. A handout about construction of transitional shelters is available to inform NGOs and share best practices. The UN food and nutrition cluster reported that WFP plans to do blanket supplementary feeding in WFP-demarcated areas for 150,000 children from January to April. Food for three months has also been pre-positioned for about 40 percent of the residents living at higher altitudes. A workshop titled “Grief and Losses” was conducted in Mansehra. It was organized by International Medical Core (IMC) and provided an opportunity to several representatives from various organizations to present their activities. CWS briefed the participants of the workshop about its psychosocial care program currently being conducted in the earthquake-affected areas. This forum served as an excellent opportunity for exchange of information. Sources: Web sites of Geo TV, AAJ TV, Dawn, Reuters Television Network, Daily Time and the Nation; field reports of CWS needs-assessment team and Pakistan Humanitarian Forum meeting minutes.
Visit the Web site of Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan for regular updates. Also see the Web site of the Pakistan Humanitarian Forum, which CWS is part of. The site has useful information about the NGO response to the earthquake.
|
|
|
