Pakistan

F.P. Report

THARPARKAR: Two more children have been died in Chachro area of Tharparkar on Saturday because of food shortage. The death toll rises to 34 in May.

According to private news channel, at least 70 children are still under treatment in different hospitals of the district and all the children were affected because of shortage of food in the area for these children.

The families facing malnutrition have started migrating to Badin and other areas from Tharparkar as the area no longer providing food for their cattle.

At least eight infants reportedly died of malnutrition and water-borne diseases in the desert region of Mithi during the past two days, parents of the deceased children told Dawn.

The infants died at Mithi's Civil Hospital where they were brought from remote villages for treatment. With these deaths, the toll rose to 235 infant casualties during the first five months of this year.

WASHINGTON, May 25, 2018 – The World Bank is committing $728 million through four projects to put Pakistan on the path of climate resilient development which will benefit millions of its citizens. These projects will protect the environment and improve the quality of life in cities while being engines of growth and promoting sustainable water management through efficient irrigation, robust weather forecasting and improved disaster preparedness.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Two million people at risk of becoming severely food insecure due to the ongoing drought.

• Humanitarian partners need US$115 million to respond to the needs of the 1.4 million most vulnerable people hit by the drought.

• REACH study sheds light on stark living conditions and lack of services in areas under control of armed groups.

• Health professionals call for universal access to health care on 7 April for World Health Day.

• Qatar is a new donor to the CHF-Afghanistan with a $2 million contribution

By Shehryar Ali on 24 May 2018

Kashmir has been the epicentre of conflict between India and Pakistan since the lines of partition were drawn in 1947. Historically, there have been four wars between the two nations; in 1947-48, 1965, 1971, and in 1999. The most recent of these saw over 30,000 soldiers and civilians being killed. Besides these wars, both nuclear nations have been continuously at low-level conflict, with skirmishes breaking out on a regular basis.

The threat posed by unexploded ordnance (UXO) remains largely unacknowledged due to a lack of awareness and sensitization. To counter this and ensure safety of the population, the ICRC supports Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) to regularly conduct risk awareness sessions. People are sensitized about the threat of unexploded ordnance during these sessions, as a result of which a few community members now actively volunteer to spread awareness about it.

Karishma clearly remembers the first day of training at Roshni Rehabilitation and Welfare Organization: she was sitting behind a sewing machine with 15 other women, some with disabilities and some having children with disabilities. However, all of them had an eager spark in their eyes to learn the art of stitching and embroidery over the next three months.

Kamal Siddiqui is the Director of Centre for Excellence in Journalism at IBA (CEJ-IBA) in Karachi. He has over 26 years of experience in journalism. Formerly, he was the editor of The Express Tribune. The ICRC is working in partnership with CEJ-IBA to increase the volume and standards of humanitarian reporting in Pakistan. The two institutes jointly organize training workshops and also give away excellence in reporting awards for journalists. For our newsletter, we had a quick chat with Mr. Siddiqui to know his thoughts on some of the issues.

By Saleem Shaikh and Sughra Tunio

MARDAN, Pakistan, May 21 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Adil Khan's hopes for a good harvest are fading again this year as he inspects his orchard of apricot and loquat trees in the mountains of Pakistan's northwest Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

Usually, fruit in the five-acre family orchard is ready to pick only by the last week of May. But this year, and in other recent years since 2013, much of the harvest has ripened by mid-April – nearly a month ahead of schedule.

First Foundation Course on International Humanitarian Law

Presently, the world faces more than 40 instances of armed conflict and other situations of violence across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The armed forces, whether operating inside the state, engaging on the borders or deployed abroad, majorly influence the implementation of IHL in the field.

The relationship between Islamic law and IHL is a unique avenue for strengthening understanding and encouraging debate on humanitarian principles and humanitarian issues, in light of Islamic principles. Apart from many other activities on this subject, in 2011, the ICRC delegation in Pakistan initiated the Islam and IHL training programme, engaging religious scholars, particularly Islamic studies professors, to highlight the compatibility of IHL rules with the Islamic law of Siyar.

Humanitarian organizations can help empower governments by providing technical support of providing health-care services in areas affected by violence. In Pakistan, the ICRC's partnership with Directorate of Health Services FATA is one such step to support access to universal health care. The ICRC has been supporting the emergency department at the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar and the Civil Hospital Jamrud, Khyber Agency, equipping them with technical support for ensuring quality emergency care.

Work goes on at hectic pace as eight people stand on either side of an assembly line, manufacturing wheelchairs for persons with disabilities at the paraplegic centre in Peshawar. Two of the workers are persons with disabilities, clearly reflecting the slogan "Nothing for us without us".

The wheelchair production unit at the centre is not new. However, in 2017, the manufacturing programme saw innovative interventions that helped upscale the project to meet increased demand and continued sustainability.

In a worrying development, anti-polio vaccine refusals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) rose by 6,527 in May 2018 compared to refusals in April 2018.

Health Department data acquired by _DawnNewsTV_ shows that the number of refusals during an immunisation drive from May 1-3 were 26,610 compared to 20,083 in April.

• New on www.polioeradication.org: Rotarians are at the heart of the fight to end polio, and in Pakistan, are reducing chance of virus spread through provision of clean drinking water.

• This week, the World Health Assembly is meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, and will be presented with a Strategic Action Plan on Polio Transition (including the Post-Certification Strategy), a status report on polio eradication, and a proposed resolution on containment of polioviruses.

Kathmandu, May 23, 2018 — Protracted conflicts in Asia have negatively impacted development and growth, nationally and regionally. Local conflicts, associated with land and natural resources, along with urban crime, are on the rise as Asian countries develop and urbanize.

By: Jeff Krentel; Nathaniel L. Wilson

An evaluation of a three-year USIP program to strengthen capacity in the field to counter violent extremism revealed that effective project design, thoughtful recruitment strategies, and tailored course content are critical. Participants reported applying what they learned to either adjust existing CVE programs or develop new programs altogether. This report explores the lessons from the project for funders and practitioners to develop more effective projects.

Summary