Period covered by this Operations Update:
1 September 2007 to 31 March 2008;
Appeal target (current): The appeal is being revised down from CHF 165.2 million (USD 158.6 million or EUR 102.3 million) to CHF 164.5 million (USD 157.8 million or EUR 101.8 million).
Appeal coverage: 93%;
Appeal history:
- This Emergency Appeal was initially launched on a preliminary basis on 9 October 2005 for CHF 10.8 million (USD 10.38 million or EUR 6.69 million) for four months to assist 30,000 families (120,000 beneficiaries.)
- Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF): CHF 200,000 was initially allocated from the Federation's DREF to support the national society to respond.
- The preliminary appeal budget was increased to CHF 73.3 million on 12 October 2005 and the number of beneficiaries increased to 150,000 families (750,000 beneficiaries) for a period of six months. The number of beneficiaries was revised down on 17 October 2005 to 70,000 families (some 500,000 people) based on delivery capacity and a revised average family size of seven.
- A Revised Emergency Appeal was launched on 25 October 2005 for CHF 152 million to assist 81,000 families (570,000 beneficiaries) for six months.
- A Revised Emergency and Recovery Appeal was launched on 28 March 2006 for CHF 227 million to assist over 1,085,000 beneficiaries through to the end of 2008.
- The budget was revised down to CHF 165 million on 12 December 2006 to assist over 1,085,000 beneficiaries through to the end of 2008.
Summary: The Pakistan earthquake operation is being extended by a year until the end of 2009. The targeted number of beneficiaries remains the same, while there is only a minor change to the budget (decreasing by 0.5 percent to CHF 164.5 million). Overall, expenditure against the revised budget is 73 per cent. Plans for the extension were outlined at a partnership meeting held in Islamabad in October 2007, attended by 14 partner national societies.
Various security issues including military action in the Swat Valley, attacks on humanitarian organizations in Batagram and Mansehra and the political situation caused delays in health, water and sanitation, and livelihoods activities during the reporting period. Construction activity (with the exception of monitoring) was generally unaffected by the security situation as the work is being carried out by contractors.
While good progress is now being made in reconstruction (with building underway at 24 sites out of 36 projects), the start-up period took longer than anticipated. Completion of all the projects will now stretch into 2009. The first project due to be completed will be a girls middle school in May this year near the quakeravaged town of Balakot.
Mobile health teams continue to operate, bringing much needed basic health care to quake-affected communities. Through 2008 these teams will make the transition from curative to preventative health care. The capacity building component of the health programme has a growing focus on community-based first aid with continued training and development of information materials. Avian influenza (H5N1) information dissemination activities began in January 2008. Planning has been done in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) during 2007.
Water and sanitation activities continue with 29 out of a planned 64 water supply schemes completed while a further 19 are underway. The number of latrines constructed is approaching 3,000. However, as with reconstruction, finalizing these projects will take until 2009. Hygiene promotion/ awareness activities continue in all areas where the 'hardware' component is being rolled out.
A major achievement under the disaster management programme has been significant progress towards the Pakistan Red Crescent Society's (PRCS) target of storing disaster preparedness stocks, sufficient for 35,000 families in strategic locations across the country. The total of disaster management cells (which are attached to branches) has increased to 20 (out of a target of 43). Training activity was lower than planned during the reporting period, mainly due to the diversion of resources to the large-scale Cyclone Yemyin/Floods operation in Sindh and Baluchistan (MDRPK001). The emergency response phase for the floods operation lasted from July to December. That operation is being extended through until 2009 with capacity building activities in disaster management, health (including water and sanitation) and branch development in flood-affected areas. Progress under that appeal will be reported on in Cyclone Yemyin/Floods operations updates.
Under the livelihoods project, communities continued to receive agricultural support and training. The project has been reoriented from being based on distributions of agricultural inputs to helping communities plan and implement projects to help support livelihoods such as irrigation schemes, and provision of skills training.
Organizational development implementation continued to be low. Following the partnership meeting, the PRCS made a renewed commitment to give national society capacity building activities priority. An organizational development delegate's position with a national society counterpart has been approved by the PRCS.
Significant progress on a legal status agreement for the International Federation has been made. The draft is currently with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following approval by the National Society Governing Board in December.
With the extension of this operation until the end of 2009, the final report is now due on 31 March 2010.
Map: Pakistan: Earthquake - Operations update 30 (as of April 2008)
Map: Pakistan: Earthquake - Reconstruction projects, Operations update 30 (as of April 2008)
For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:
- In Pakistan: Pakistan Red Crescent Society contact - Ilyas Khan, Secretary General, phone: +92 51 50407 (NHQ), +92 333 511 4223 (mobile); email: sec.general@prcs.org.pk
- In Pakistan, Federation country office contact - Azmat Ulla, Head of delegation, phone: +92 51 925 0416 (office), +92 300 850 3317 (mobile); Fax: +92 51 925 0418; email: azmat.ulla@ifrc.org
- In India: South Asia regional office contact: Al Panico, Head of regional office, New Delhi, phone: +91 11 2411 1125; fax: +91 11 2411 1128; email: al.panico@ifrc.org
- In Geneva: Gokce Balcik-Guess, Pakistan Desk Officer ; phone: +41 22 730 4813; fax: +41 22 730 0395; email: gokce.balcik@ifrc.org