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Pakistan

Pakistan: Monsoon Flash Floods (MDRPK006) - Two-Year Consolidated Report

Attachments

Period covered by this Operational Update: 2 August 2010 to 31 August 2012

Appeal target (current): CHF 92.6 million

Appeal coverage: 98%;

Appeal history:

· * Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF): CHF 250,000 was allocated on 30 July 2010 to support the National Society’s response to the emergency.

· * A preliminary emergency appeal was launched on 2 August 2010 for CHF 17,008,050 for nine months to assist 175,000 beneficiaries.

· * An emergency appeal was launched on 19 August 2010 for CHF 75,852,261 for 18 months to assist 130,000 flood-affected families (910,000 beneficiaries).

· * A revised emergency appeal was launched on 15 November 2010 for CHF 130,673,677 to assist 130,000 families (910,000 people) for 24 months.

· * A second revision of the emergency appeal was launched on 3 August 2012 seeking CHF 92.6 million to assist 130,000 families (910,000 people) for 36 months.

Summary:

With the relief phase closed in April 2011, the operation focused on the planning and design of the current recovery programme, employing the integrated and community based approach in six flood-affected districts[1] in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab and Sindh provinces. A vulnerability capacity assessment (VCA) was conducted from December 2010 to January 2011 as a starting point for drafting an implementation plan for an integrated recovery programme (IRP) covering 39 villages in six districts of the three provinces. Interventions designed for the IRP were under disaster management, health, water and sanitation (WatSan), shelter and livelihoods in line with available funding. The IRP represents a shift in programming from short term provision of relief assistance to flood affected persons towards recovery support approaches, contributing to building longer term community resilience.

The management responsibility for IRP implementation was decentralised to Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) provincial branches, changing from the previous structure during the relief and early recovery where the national headquarters was responsible for overall management and monitoring. This called for a substantial scaling up of the human resources (more than 125 new staff members were recruited). The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) country office restructured its operational hubs in the field and strengthened the offices in the three provincial branches to ensure transparency, accountability and effective provision of technical support. The IFRC sub-offices worked directly with the PRCS provincial branches in implementing all IFRC supported programmes.

Within the IRP, PRCS has the lead role for implementation and progress monitoring the programme, whilst the IFRC provides additional support in accountability, transparency and technical measures. A number of procurement services of certain hardwares (mainly water and sanitation (WatSan) materials, promotion materials, IT and first aid kits) is undertaken by IFRC, as well as processing the cash grant transfers to the identified beneficiaries of the livelihoods and shelter programmes.

The implementation plan for the IRP was approved in April 2011 by the PRCS, and implementation of the IRP interventions began to show substantial results in the last quarter of the same year with the establishment of village committees and beneficiary selection for shelter, livelihoods and WatSan components. Cash programming was instituted, kick-starting the shelter and livelihood interventions. The WatSan hygiene promotion and hardware components of building latrines and water supply schemes also commenced in the same period. Health interventions undertaken by the PRCS health units saw coaches trained in community-based health and first aid (CBHFA) and psychosocial support.

When the implementation of the programme started in the communities vulnerability and capacity assessments (VCAs) were implemented, unfortunately some inaccuracies were discovered, due to data collection errors, missing information and inaccurate secondary information. This resulted, for example, in Sindh province expanding the number of villages (from 14 to 39) in order to reach target beneficiaries, after extensive discussions with PRCS headquarters and the provincial branches and in line with findings from beneficiary verification exercises. A multi-sectoral baseline survey and a WatSan knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) assessment were also conducted to provide an overview of the targeted populations’ pre-intervention conditions. Complementing individual programme progress monitoring and activity tracking tools, an end-line assessment and a follow-on KAP are planned in the second quarter of 2013. These will form part of the overall evaluation strategy of the IRP, reviewing the impact contributions to community resilience and the effectiveness of the integrated programming approach.

During the implementation period of the IRP, the operation faced some challenges affecting it, such as extensive renewed flooding in Sindh province which prompted a seven-month emergency operation (MDRPK007 from September 2011 to March 2012) and a harsh, drawn-out winter in KP province. Additionally, activities in Punjab province were suspended due to investigations into reported internal irregularities and connected court cases against the PRCS Punjab branch. In the interest of ensuring continuation of assistance to the needy identified beneficiaries, and following negotiations with the branch, it was agreed that the PRCS national headquarters (NHQ) would directly manage the implementation of the IRP in Punjab (with NHQ staff deployed to the field). Furthermore, the services rendered by the general post office (GPO) to facilitate shelter and livelihoods cash transfer performed below the agreed delivery standards, particularly in Sindh province, causing delays in the implementation of related activities. Other options for delivery of cash grants were looked into. However, these were not deemed feasible given the time required for a retender and associated contract renegotiations and programme restart.

Recruitment of surge capacity of human resources appeared not only time consuming, but it was also difficult to find staff with the required level of education, experience and technical skills, and within the salaries offered by PRCS. Despite the increased human resources available for the operation, complications of the Pakistan environment and security situation impacted and reduced anticipated implementation rates, as a consequence of which the operation was extended by 12 months to July 2013. A final report will be made available by 31 October 2013 (three months after the end of the operation).

Renewed heavy monsoon rains were experienced from late August 2012 in the provinces of Sindh, KP, Punjab, Baluchistan and Gilgit Baltistan (GB), affecting five million persons, compounding effects in areas previously affected by the 2010 and 2011 floods, as well as beyond. The PRCS monitored closely the developments, and response plans were developed in line with the PRCS 2012 contingency plans.

Overall through the implementation under this emergency appeal, the PRCS/IFRC has reached at least 227,028 families (1,589,196 people) across the five provinces most affected by the floods with various interventions during the relief and early recovery phase.

The following partner National Societies (PNS) and other donors have contributed multilateral funding support to this emergency appeal: