Attachments
Executive summary
While the political and economic position of India has improved, the country still continues to face many economic, environmental and health challenges that threaten the well-being of its population. According to the latest UNDP Human Development Index, India is ranked 1281 out of 177 countries. Around 400 million of the population are still living on less than USD 1 a day, with many, especially in rural areas, lacking access to basic necessities.
The country remains extremely vulnerable to both seismic and hydro-meteorological hazards such as floods, cyclones, droughts and landslides. The vulnerability to disasters is aggravated by social, cultural, economic, institutional and political factors. Deforestation is adding to the environmental instability and contributing to global warming and climate change. There is evidence that climate change is increasing the severity and frequency of natural disasters such as floods and cyclones, and causing new and increased health problems. Due to ad hoc governance, there is rapid and unplanned urbanization which leads people to work and live in unsafe environments more vulnerable to natural disasters. Access to information is poor, especially for marginalised people, who are deprived of their ability to make informed decisions both in relation to risks but also in their response. Disasters cost lives, destroy communities and people's livelihoods and leave a lasting impact not only on the physical infrastructure but also on people's psychosocial well-being. The Indian government has taken concrete steps to address these mounting risks and have set up a national disaster management authority, which is the key body under the Ministry of Home Affairs. With a similar set up in the states and districts, the government is gearing up for overall coordinated response.
The Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) is one of the largest humanitarian organisations in India with over 12 million volunteers and a network of over 700 branches spread all over the country. The IRCS is a recognised force in the disaster management sector in the region. With the support of the International Federation's India office, IRCS is in the process of developing a new development plan for 2008-11, but priorities and focus are likely to remain similar to those in the previous development plan 2004-07. The main priorities for the 2009-10 plan are in line with the four Global Agenda Goals. The IRCS disaster management programme incorporates the Hyogo Framework for Action, Millennium Development Goals components, the regional "building safer communities in South Asia" initiative and the integrated programme approach model, reflecting the national society's commitment towards fulfilling the national, regional and global agendas. Additionally, climate change is being incorporated in its disaster management programmes.
The health and care programme will target the institutional and community levels to improve preparedness and response capacity in case of health emergencies. The main focus in the field of health is on: (i) HIV; (ii) voluntary non-remunerated blood donation; (iii) emergency health; and (iv) community-based health. HIV interventions will include prevention, care and support, as well as anti-stigma and anti-discrimination initiatives, and will continue to work towards scaling up services in line with the commitment made under the Global Alliance on HIV. The voluntary non-remunerated blood component will work towards improving awareness on the importance of voluntary blood donation. In public health in emergencies, efforts will be made to address the preparation and response mechanisms, and capacity of the national society and targeted communities. Community-based health activities will include raising awareness of volunteers and communities through training in community-based first aid.
Overall, just fewer than three million beneficiaries from the most vulnerable communities will be served through the programmes on health and care, disaster management, principles and values, as well as organisational development.
The total budget for 2009 is CHF 1,739,333 (USD 1.59 million or EUR 1.11 million) and for 2010 is CHF 1,274,385 (USD 1.16 million or EUR 811,710).
Country context
In India, around 50 million people are annually affected to varying degrees by drought. In addition, approximately 40 percent of the one billion population of the country live on less than USD 1 a day, surviving in deplorable conditions. Large parts of the population are affected by natural disasters either periodically or when hazards increasingly strike in unexpected areas. The increasing concentration of people in disaster- prone areas is also leading to increasing disaster losses. Poverty, high population growth, environmental degradation, illiteracy, ignorance, un-planned urbanization and other social and cultural factors further contribute to increased disaster risks in India. According to CRED2, 75,731 people were reported killed and 650,393,577 people were affected by disasters from 1998 to 2007. In 2007 alone, disasters claimed 1,579 lives and affected 26,335,000 people.
Although the number of deaths from disasters has dropped over the last ten years, more people are being affected and the economic consequences are becoming ever more severe. In development terms, disasters have a devastating economic impact both at the household and community level as well as the national level.
The effects of climate change appear to be increasing the severity and frequency of natural disasters such as floods and cyclones, leading to increased health problems, loss of livelihoods and rapid unplanned urbanization. Without adaptive measures to climate change, these hazards can turn into large-scale disasters. The livelihood systems of many communities are sensitive to changes in climate and their vulnerability will be increased unless their social networks and the safety nets of supportive institutions remain intact.
With 28.6 percent of the population living below the poverty line, the needs are enormous and the government recognises the efforts undertaken by civil society in this regard. Though the needs of the people remain the same, changing trends in society are giving rise to new challenges like growing urbanisation at the rate of 2.4 percent per year. India is also facing a high level of internal migration (5,700,000 migrants in 2006) and international migration (involving 0.2 percent of the total population of the country) which contribute to an increased threat to internal security in the country.
Although the Indian government is working towards the development of a good health infrastructure through publicprivate partnerships, the total spending on health is still only five percent of the GDP of this country. Similarly, other needs such as access to safe drinking water and sanitation are also critical as only 14 percent of the population have access to safe drinking water, while 67 percent of the population does not have access to improved sanitation.