Pakistan Humanitarian Fund Annual Report 2019

2019 IN REVIEW

This Annual Report presents information on the achievements of the Pakistan Humanitarian Pooled Fund (PHPF) during the 2019 calendar year.

However, because grant allocation, project implementation and reporting processes often take place over multiple years (CBPFs are designed to support ongoing and evolving humanitarian responses), the achievement of CBPFs are reported in two distinct ways:

Information on allocations granted in 2019 (shown in blue). This method considers intended impact of the allocations rather than achieved results as project implementation and reporting often continues into the subsequent year and results information is not immediately available at the time of publication of annual reports.

Results reported in 2019 attributed to allocations granted in 2019 and prior years (shown in orange). This method provides a more complete picture of achievements during a given calendar year but includes results from allocations that were granted in previous years. This data is extracted from final narrative reports approved between 1 February 2019 - 31 January 2020.

Figures for people targeted and reached may include double counting as individuals often receive aid from multiple cluster/sectors.

Contribution recorded based on the exchange rate when the cash was received which may differ from the Certified Statement of Accounts that records contributions based on the exchange rate at the time of the pledge.

HUMANITARIAN CONTEXT

Drought Situation in Sindh and Baluchistan

Pakistan received scant rainfall of -69.5% in Sindh and -45% in Balochistan during the monsoon season from May to August 2018 as recorded by the Pakistan Meteorological Department. Severe to extreme drought like situation tightened its grip on both the provinces resulting in the scarcity of water and food exacerbating conditions of sanitation, hygiene, livelihood and resilience simultaneously. The Government of Pakistan declared 8 districts of Sindh and 18 districts of Balochistan as the calamity affected areas with an estimated 5 million people being affected.

In November 2018, a multi-sector needs assessment was carried out by National Disaster Consortium (NDC) led by IOM in collaboration with FAO, UNICEF, WFP, WHO, HANDS and ACTED that confirmed an overall 71 percent of household being moderately or severely food insecure whereas 32 per cent were severely food insecure. Food consumption for the majority of households was either ‘poor’ or ‘borderline’ with 18 per cent having acceptable, 41 per cent poor and 41 per cent borderline food consumption. The National Nutrition Survey (NNS) data 2018 in identified food security and agriculture, nutrition, health, WASH, education, and women and child protection sectors as key response priorities. In Sindh, alarming findings regarding food security and severe malnutrition among children under five and lowered life expectancy among pregnant and lactating women were confirmed. In Balochistan, the malnutrition rate among children under five, as well as pregnant and lactating women remained high with acute malnutrition rate at 20 percent.

A Drought Response Plan requesting $ 95.3 million was anticipated to target 2.1 million drought affected people in Sindh and Balochistan against which $ 30.3. million had been received by January 2020.

Protracted Displacement

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Merged Districts (KPMD) have been affected by underdevelopment for long years relative to the rest of the country. Since 2008, over 5 million individuals were displaced from KPMD and Malakand division of KP due to a volatile security situation and ongoing military operations. Many of the residents in various areas have been displaced and returned several times. The UN, other international and local organizations mobilized accordingly & responded in the face of need.

Return of IDPs to former FATA

Noting an improved security situation conducive to returns, the Government of Pakistan (GoP) in 2015 initiated the returns process of displaced families to KPMD based on issuance of “de-notification”. The GoP, with the help of humanitarian partners have facilitated 438,657 (94%) of the displaced families to return to KPMD, but there still is case remaining (16,064 off camp families and approx. 2000 families in-camp from KPMDs and around 6000-8000 families yet to come from Khost, Afghanistan). The origin areas of these IDP families are not yet de-notified for returns.

Humanitarian Situation in Return Areas

Since the de-notification of the areas by the GoP in 2015, massive returns from the northern part of the country to KPMD took place, where significant residual humanitarian needs still existed.

Gaps noted in the process was lack of basic facilities and infrastructure in the return areas. Due to several years of neglect and a lack of maintenance, most of the facilities remain in dire need maintenance & repair including houses, schools, health facilities, water sources, agricultural livelihoods and farming. A need for the rehabilitation of health facilities had been noted. Main source of drinking water are rivers and streams. Hygiene, sanitation and access to clean drinking water remains a concern. The return areas may be considered food insecure as the families missed out on the cultivation seasons due to displacement for several years, hence the populations will remain dependent on food distributions until the agriculture activities are restored. UXO are one of the biggest threats to the returnees and the whole area needs to be de-mined.