Pakistan: Floods/Cyclone OCHA Situation Report No. 25

This situation report is based on information received from the United Nations Resident Coordinator's Office in Pakistan, National Disaster Management Authority, Pakistan Meteorological Department, Clusters, and media sources.

HIGHLIGHTS

- The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), UN Agencies/Clusters and the humanitarian community (representatives of Pakistan Humanitarian Forum) held a Disaster Management meeting on 13 December 2007 to discuss the possibility of a workable mechanism for emergency preparedness and response.

- In Sindh, according to the assessments produced by 9 NGOs, 40,850 families need assistance in Dadu and Kamber-Shahdadkot districts. The priority interventions included shelter, food items, drinking water and NFIs (warm clothing, blankets etc).

- In a survey conducted by JADE in Kamber-Shahdadkot district the average income of a family after flood is Rs 7,000 (US$116) per annum whereas in a normal year it is Rs 44,000 (US$733). A report by Norwegian Refugee Council indicates that approximately 30% of the flood-affected population in villages of the Kamber-Shahdadlot district did not receive relief compensation.

- Merlin reports that since 25 November 2007, 215 cases of malaria have been diagnosed and treated in Jhal Magsi district, Balochistan. Merlin urgently requests that the activities of the provincial malaria control programme are intensified with the support of District Health Officer. There are also severe malnutrition cases which would require specific treatment and referral system.

- Residual needs require urgent action in view of the on-going winter. In particular, projects related to shelter, water, self reliance and early recovery would need additional funding.

OVERVIEW

Sindh

1. Norwegian Refugee Council reports that people from villages in Kamber-Shahdadkot district are in need of food items, blankets and warm clothing for the coming winter. Many flood affectees are living in inadequate shelters. The shelters provided earlier by NGOs were intended for temporary use till families reconstructed their homes. But many families do not have the resources to reconstruct their homes and the temporary shelters are all they have. Many families have not even received temporary shelters and are living in makeshift shelters. Most families uses their house reconstruction allocation to purchase food.

2. Based on assessments conducted by 9 I/NGOs, 40,850 families are in need of assistance in Dadu and Kamber-Shahdadkot districts. These NGOs, including Premiere Urgence, Kachho Foundation, TRDP and GSSB, have been working in 3 tehsils of Dadu district and have identified 9,166 most vulnerable families. JADE, Norwegian Refugee Council, Care International, Action Aid and SRSO have been working in tehsils Kamber, Warah, Qubo Saeed Khan and Miro Khan of Kamber-Shahdadkot district and have identified 31,684 people still in need of assistance. Priority sectors include shelter, food items, drinking water and NFIs (warm clothing, blankets etc).

Balochistan

3. Considering the stage of the emergency, the situation in Balochistan remains unsatisfactory in many of the flood-affected areas. Many affected families are facing food shortage, lack of access to drinking water, poor hygiene and sanitation conditions. Majority of the IDP families in the areas of Gandhava and Kot Magsi (Jhal Magsi district), Bagh Head and Karya Feri (Jaffarabad district) are living on roads. Almost 80% of these IDPs have not received any compensation from the government. In order to compensate loss in agriculture production, male family members are working on monthly wages in nearby small towns for less than Rs 700 (US$ 11) on average per month.

COORDINATION

4. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), UN Agencies/Clusters and the humanitarian community (representatives of Pakistan Humanitarian Forum) held a Disaster Management meeting on 13 December 2007. General Farooq, Chairman of NDMA, welcomed the initiative of holding combined meeting with NDMA on a monthly basis and discussed the possibility of a workable mechanism for emergency preparedness and response. The UN Resident Coordinator said that the Terms of Reference (TORs) and Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs), drafted to guide emergency response, needed to be in line with NDMA framework and should be reviewed in the second DMT meeting on 21 January 2008.

5. Mr. Rashid Khalikov, Director/OCHA New York and Eliane Provo Kluit, Regional Disaster Response Advisor/OCHA Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok visited the flood-affected and earthquake hit areas from 28 November to 3 December 2007. The Mission met NDMA Chairman General Farooq and Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) Deputy Chairman General Nadeem. The visit aimed at reviewing the earthquake response projects after 2 years, assessing the current situation of floods affected areas, making recommendations for OCHA presence and building relationship with the Government/NDMA.

6. During its 3-day visit to flood-affected areas of Sindh the mission visited three villages which received different levla of assistance: Chukhi village (UC Kot Magsi), Mirpur Burero (UC Bago Dero) and Thorke village (UC Gabi Dero). In the first village, the water hasn't receded and people did not get compensation. In the second village, the population has returned and JADE is providing shelter and medical support. In the third village, the population owns the land but is living in makeshift shelter, under difficult health and daily sustenance conditions. Other consequences of the floods include the over saturation of soil with salt, making it inappropriate for farming and consequently decreasing the level of annual income, increasing the number of health problems.

7. It is reported that in Union Councils Kamal Khan, Chinni, Pat Ghul Mohammad and Sawaro, tehsil Johi, Dadu district more than 70 villages are still surrounded by flood water, with thousands of acres of cultivable land remaining under water and consequently no chance of cultivation in coming months.

8. The UN Resident Coordinator's Office in Sindh and Balochistan is consolidating all assessments and surveys conducted so far by I/NGOs in order to identify unassisted population and families in need of winterization assistance.

9. Protection Cluster meetings continue to be held on a regular basis in Quetta and Sindh. The next Protection Cluster meeting in Sindh will be held on 18 December. A Protection Cluster meeting was held in Islamabad on 11 December to discuss advocacy on protection issues. It was decided that a meeting between NDMA, the Protection Cluster and other key actors will take place in January to discuss lessons learned from the flood response and overall Protection issues.

10. General Coordination Meetings (GCM) in Sindh are held weekly on alternate basis in Kamber/Larkana and Dadu and chaired by Norwegian Refugee Council and UN Resident Coordinator's Office. The last one was held in Larkana and chaired by the new District Coordination Officer (DCO) of Kamber district. The DCO has asked for a 2-page report from each I/NGO stating their background, activities and area of work, achievements and future projects. The UNRC office will compile the reports and hand over to the DCO.

RELIEF ACTIVITIES

Balochistan

Health

11. From 5 to 16 November 2007, WHO conducted a comprehensive health assessment in all the ten severely flood-affected districts of Balochistan to plan for early recovery activities, comprehensively map out facilities in these areas, identify issues relating to quality of healthcare and make the preparedness plans for next floods and flood prone areas. The assessment was carried out in 239 out of 262 health facilities, including 24 drug warehouses, 28 diagnostic laboratories, 38 Mother and Child health services (MNCH) and 7 of the remaining camps in Turbat district. A total of 80 health facilities were damaged, out of which 64 were partially damaged and 16 completely damaged. The provision of healthcare services in Balochistan is generally poor except for outpatient department (OPD) services. The other services are only provided at secondary level. The following recommendations are finalised at district level with the health Executive District

Officers (EDOs): 33% of the facilities are either partially or completely damaged and therefore in need of revitalization. There is an urgent need to address key preparedness activities before the next flood season. Primary health care should be given priority both by the district and federal government. Secondary services also need to be strengthened as there is no provision of special services. There is a need to implement and monitor Disease Early Warning System (DEWS) for prevention of outbreaks and planning purposes. Furthermore, there is a need to ensure adequate supply of essential drugs with good storage practices by professional staff/pharmacist at the government warehouses in all the districts. The government needs to provide basic utilities such as continuous supply of water, electricity and sanitation facilities. Shortage of professional staff especially gynaecologists, paediatrician, female medical officer/technician and lady health visitors pose a great health risk to the vulnerable groups. Many of the findings in the report reflect the vulnerabilities and poor coping mechanisms existing prior to the floods.

12. Merlin will be providing primary healthcare services in 4 Union Councils of Jhal Magsi district (Kot Magsi, Hathiari, Patri, Panjuk) until the end of December 2007. Two static clinics at Kot Magsi and Hathiari Basic Health Units, and two mobile clinics are currently covering 18 villages and reaching out to 49,000 indirect beneficiaries. All medical teams are providing comprehensive primary healthcare services and drugs, free of charge. Merlin reports that since 25 November, 215 cases of malaria have been diagnosed and treated. Merlin urgently requests that the activities of the provincial malaria control programme be intensified with the support of District Health Officer including the training of all active health staff on the new National Protocol for Malaria Diagnostic and Treatment. Merlin also reports many cases of severe malnutrition which require treatment and referral system. Merlin will end its operation in the district by 20 December 2007 because of lack of funding. However there is a need to continue health activities until the Ministry of Health starts providing comprehensive primary healthcare.

Protection

13. Norwegian Refugee Council Quetta has completed a series of trainings in Jhal Magsi district of Balochistan. The topic of these trainings was 'Protection Issues in Emergencies'. Sessions for government officials were organised on 14 November whereas sessions for I/NGOs were organised on 15 November 2007.

Education

14. Most of the schools in Jhal Magsi and Jaffarabad districts are non-functional and need repair/rehabilitation. In Jaffarabad district 28 schools are completely damaged and 17 partially damaged. The District Coordination Officer has requested tents for schooling. 2,000 students were affected during the floods in Jaffarabad district. The enrolment ratio is low in view of the school age population in the district.

15. National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) with UNICEF's collaboration is constructing 78 temporary school shelters (TSS) including water and sanitation (WES) facilities in Turbat district. So far 20 TSS have been completed.

16. Balochistan Rural Support Programme (BRSP) with UNICEF's collaboration is constructing 150 shelters in Bolan (100 shelters) and Jhal Magsi (50 shelters) districts including WES facilities.

17. 376 teachers are being trained by UNICEF in psycho-social support in Turbat district. Moreover, 3,000 pamphlets and 5,000 posters for back-to-school campaigns are being distributed. Supplies such as school-in-box, blackboards, recreational kits, plastic mats, water coolers, teachers' furniture and books are being distributed in four districts (Khuzdar, Turbat, Bolan, Jhal Magsi).

18. UNICEF is supporting flood-affected regular programme in Khuzdar, Lasbela, Kalat and Sibi districts. Of the 30 temporary shelter schools, 7 have been provided through School Development Plans in Khuzdar district.

19. Damage assessment is being conducted through cluster partners in most affected areas of Turbat, Jhal Magsi, Bolan, Naseerabad, Khuzdar, Lasbela, Kalat and Sibi districts.

Livelihoods

20. Between 25% to 30% of flood affected farmers have been targeted by FAO in Sindh and Balochistan.

21. FAO reports that the livelihoods of households farming/grazing rangelands have not been restored in most flood-affected areas. In addition to damages to standing Kharif (summer) crops in Balochistan and Sindh, this essentially means that there will be a shortage in supply of wheat straw and increasing pressure on the degraded rangelands.

22. Lack of support for the rehabilitation of irrigation channels, watercourses and water harvesting systems combined with poor water management practices have restricted the choice of crops that farmers can grow. Scarcity of water has reduced yields of food and fodder crops significantly, putting additionalpressure on the limited natural resource base.

23. There is an apparent lack of further donor funding for early recovery activities in the cropping and livestock sub-sectors for the 2008 Kharif (summer) crop, in particular for the repair and rehabilitation of traditional on-farm water management systems owned and operated by community based water users associations.

24. Roots Works has started food-for-work programme in Jhal Magsi district. Union Councils Kot Magsi, Gandhava, Bareja have been targeted and 3,800 families benefited from the project. The food package consists of wheat, sugar, pulses and dry fruit.

Shelter

25. Hundreds of flood-affected people are still living in tents or transitional shelters. In many parts of Turbat, Jaffarabad and Naseerabad districts, people are living in their damaged houses without walls and doors. The population, in particular children, is exposed to the winter cold and need warm clothing, shoes, blankets etc. The IDPs informed that they do not have washing units or latrine facility.

26. UNHCR's implementing partners, including Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Save the Children and BRSP, have distributed 48,000 plastic sheets, 3,000 tents, 9,500 blankets, 6,000 jerry cans.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

27. Lack of resources for recovery interventions after completion of emergency projects by the end of December will cause a gap in provision of water and sanitation facilities.

28. In many parts of Jhal Magsi district, communities that have returned to their homes are facing severe shortage of drinking water. They are using contaminated water from nearby ponds and are facing serious health problems.

Information Management

29. UN-Habitat has deployed a GIS/MIS expert in the office of Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). The organisation has conducted training workshops for the UN, I/NGOs on reporting forms and Flood Information web portal (PFIC website). The forms have been distributed to the cluster members and I/NGOs for information. Maps and updates are prepared and distributed to stakeholders.

Sindh

Health

30. The Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) has conducted in December 2007 drinking water tests in the villages Haibat Khan Magsi, tehsil Kubo Saeed Khan, Kamber district. Based on the analysis of various water resources, most of the samples in the village were found to be unfit due to turbidity and bacterial contamination. Skin diseases spreading during floods have still not been controlled due to improper treatment and regular use of contaminated water.

31. Kachho Foundation (local NGO) has established 80 medical camps in tehsil Johi, Dadu district and 3,020 flood affected individuals and have received medical treatments.

32. Action Aid, through its implementing partners, conducted 132 health sessions in tehsil Warah, with the participation of 2,659 affected individuals, including 1,239 malnourished.

33. JADE reports that NGOs have not reached more than 100 villages because of lack of access related to floodwater. They are establishing 10 medical mobile camps in 3 tehsils: 4 in Kubo Saeed Khan, 4 in Kamber and 2 in Warah.

Education

34. The schooling year of the children has been disrupted with majority of families in the flood-affected areas migrating to other areas in search of work. When the cropping season will be over those families will return and children will be able to go to schools.

35. In some other schools located in the flood-affected areas, girls don't have access to education because of the non-availability of female teachers, the lack of transportation facility and the lack of schools in remote areas.

36. School Management Committees (SMCs) setup by the District Coordination Officers are inactive and have difficulties providing voluntary support to the school administration in order to overcome the current problems (teacher absenteeism, low student enrolment, high student dropout and lack of building maintenance). The SMCs complains about the lack of funding from the Sindh Government and district education offices and the subsequent water and sanitation problems in schools. Latrines are nonfunctional and school items have been stolen or broken by IDPs.

37. During the month monitoring visits were conducted to the schools provided with Temporary School Structures (TSS) in Dadu and Kamber districts. One of the most urgent problems to be addressed by the district education and administration was the need for watchmen to protect the school belongings from theft. During coordination meetings, the District Education team has requested UNICEF to play a role for the appointment of watchmen to Government Primary Schools.

38. Of the 70 targeted Government primary schools, UNICEF has provided and set up 35 temporary school structures in Kamber and 28 of the 35 have been completed in Dadu district. The temporary school structures include tents, school-inbox, recreational kits, plastic mats and other supporting material.

39. UNICEF through a local NGO, Indus Resource Centre (IRC) is providing minor repair, maintenance and disinfection services including water and sanitation facilities to 200 schools. Those 200 schools are also provided with school-in-box and recreational kits.

40. Indus Resource Centre (IRC) is working on Child Emergency and Education. 7 child friendly spaces are established in 7 villages in Dadu distric (Bago Dero, Garkan, Pejaho, Kandowah, Mado, Murid Baber and Ibrahim Sand). IRC is offering Life Skill Based Education (LSBE) to children, women and teenagers at these spaces. They have also set a target for providing psychosocial support to 700 children, 1,000 teenagers and 500 women in all 7 centres. This project lasted from 15 September to 15 December 2007.

Protection

41. Norwegian Refugee Council reports that approximately 30% of the flood-affected population in villages of Kamber-Shahdadkot district were excluded from the assessment and did not receive compensation. People receiving compensation are also having difficulties cashing the compensation checks.

42. UNICEF has asked the Relief Commissioner/PDMA Representative in Sindh for information on the cash compensation distribution process in Sindh. The Relief Commissioner stated that the information would be released only after a written request was made. The High Court of Sindh dated made a decision on 1 November 2007 on the "petitions ... filed by persons claiming to be flood affectees who allegedly have not received the relief fund of Rs 15,000. It is also the contention of the petitioners that proper survey has not been carried out and the funds have been distributed not on the basis of identification of real affectees". The decision of the High Court of Sindh stated that all the persons who are petitioners shall apply within a maximum period of seven days to the District Coordination Officer (DCO). The DCO Kamber- Shahdadkot shall after examining these applications and conducting enquiry determine by 30 November, 2007 whether the petitioner's application is genuine and entitled to relief compensation. The applicant/petitioner will then become entitled to the relief fund.

43. Takhleeq Foundation, a local NGO is working in 4 tehsils and 7 Union Councils. They are also establishing library and organising events for women in Bago Dero, Hazarwa and Kubo Saeed Khan. They are working with UNICEF on child and women protection emergency programme. The organisation provided 17,000 non-formal education kits to children in their service base, radios and LSBE (Life Skill Based Education) to women: 2,500 each in 7 Union Councils (Kubo Saeed Khan, Bago Dero, Hazarwa, Dost Ali, Seelra, Khandu and Mirpur).

44. Mehran Welfare Trust in collaboration with UNICEF is starting a project on family tracing for unaccompanied children in Dadu and Kamber-Shahdadkot districts in December. One-day training was conducted for the staff at Larkana.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

45. Premiere Urgence has been working in 3 Union Councils (Sawaro, Chinni and Kamal Khan) in District Dadu. They have setup a water purification plant in Dadu. Premiere Urgence has stopped its main activity of water trucking on 20 November. The plant has been dismantled on 28 November 2007 and handed over to Pakistan Red Crescent (PRC) due to shortage of funds. Premiere Urgence has also conducted an in-depth assessment on water and sanitation and is in the process of finalising a proposal for rehabilitation of existing water sources,as well as development and implementation of a new water network. In this regard, they are looking for potential donors.

46. Care International is installing 250 latrines and 150 hand pumps in Dadu district.

Livelihoods

47. FAO reports that procurement of approved wheat seed varieties for Sindh was not possible due to lack of supply in the market. Funds earmarked for wheat and fertilizers have been used to augment livestock feed beneficiaries.

48. Kachho Foundation and Caritas have setup 17 livestock camps where 2,788 animals have been vaccinated in tehsil Johi, Dadu district.

49. A survey conducted by JADE in Shahdadkot concluded that the average income of a family after flood is Rs 7000 (US$116) per annum whereas in a normal year it is Rs 44000 (US$733).

Information management

50. UN-Habitat is collecting information from all I/NGOs working in the field. 3W (Who What Where) forms have been circulated among I/NGOs and based on the information provided, maps are being developed. This will help in the identification of gaps and will be shared with NDMA. However, UN-Habitat requires more information from I/NGOs on a regular basis to update information.

51. UN-Habitat has conducted Global Positioning System (GPS) in Karachi for UN agencies and I/NGOs on 22 November. The training aimed at familiarizing the participants with the working and importance of GPS.

Cluster-specific documents, situation reports, maps including Who What Where (3W), assessments and technical guidelines relating to this emergency can be found at www.pfic.webexone.com. This situation report together with further information on ongoing emergencies is also available on the OSOCC Internet Website. http://www.unocha.org/vosocc and on the OCHA Internet Website http://www.reliefweb.int/.

For detailed information please contact:

Desk Officer (New York)
Ms. Séverine Rey
Office Tel: +1 917 367 53 36
Office Fax: +1 212 963 36 30
Email: rey@un.org

GCMS (Geneva)
Jean Verheyden
Office Tel: + 41 22 - 917 1381
Mobile : + 41 79 - 509 8116
Email: verheyden@un.org

OCHA Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Mr. Rajan Gengaje
Regional Disaster Response Adviser
Office Tel. +66-2288-2572
Office Fax +66-2288-1043
Mobile + 66-8-1916-1271
Email: Gengaje@un.org

Press Contact:
(NY)
Ms. Stephanie Bunker
Office Tel : + 1 917-367-5126
Office Fax: + 1 212-963-1312
Email: bunker@un.org

(GVA)
Ms. Elizabeth Byrs
Tel + 41 22 917 26 53
Fax + 41 22 917 00 20
E-mail: byrs@un.org