Attachments
SUMMARY OF THE EARLY ACTION PROTOCOL
The IFRC The Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) has approved a total of CHF 274,969 CHF for the Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan. The approved amount consists of an immediate allocation of CHF 77,227 for readiness, CHF 110,361 for prepositioning and CHF 87,381 to implement early actions once the defined triggers are met.
Allocations are made from the Anticipatory Pillar of the DREF, under the DREF appeal code MDRTJ033. Unearmarked contributions to the DREF are encouraged to guarantee enough funding is available for the Early Action Protocols being developed.
Tajikistan, with 93% of its territory covered with mountains, is a highly disaster-prone country. Mudflows, landslides, droughts and floods are the most frequent, followed by avalanches, earthquakes and extreme temperatures. The impact of these disasters is often aggravated by inadequate financial capacity of the national government to prepare for and respond to emergencies as well as by low awareness of local population about disaster preparedness and management.
The official CoES data indicates that 3,340 natural disasters have hit areas of the country between 1997 and 2016. Between 1992 and 2016, natural and climate-related disasters led to GDP losses of roughly US$1.8 billion, affecting almost 7 million people. In terms of climate change, Tajikistan is ranked 22nd globally and highest among Central Asian countries.
The selection of a cold wave as the hazard in the present EAP is based on the analysis of the historical data on extremely cold winters over the past decades and their severe impact on the vulnerable population in the urban and rural areas of Tajikistan.
In recent years, Tajikistan has faced repeated extremely cold winters, that had a severe impact on vulnerable population living in the mountainous terrain. The cold waves have pushed demand for electricity, heating and thermal insulation of the households that rural population can’t afford due to high poverty level. This has been worsened by the transport suspension and isolation of people that are already at risk due to living in the remote areas. In the context of contemporary Tajikistan with majority of men being on migration out of country, population living in poverty includes elderly, people with disabilities, women, children and people with chronic diseases.
Schools, hospitals and other public places become inaccessible as the roads are usually blocked with the snow. Drinking water sources get frozen and people experience shortages in water supply. Livestock – the main income source for local population – also suffers.
The present EAP has been developed by RCST with the support from key partners: IFRC in Tajikistan, German Red Cross in Tajikistan [GRC], CoES, Hydromet and in consultation with the key disaster risk reduction [DRR] actors in the country, especially with the Rapid Emergency and Coordination Team [REACT] members. It is based on data of Hydromet of Tajikistan and analysis from the Committee on Emergency Situations [CoES] available for the last 40 years of cold wave forecast data, as well as on information from different official sources and similar projects on cold wave that the RCST has been implementing in previous years. It is in line with the FbF practitioners’ manual, and IFRC standards, using historical data analysis, outcomes of the bilateral meetings with the key ministries/agencies results of the workshops, focus groups discussions, household surveys and with the consideration of feedback provided by partners. Also, information is based on rounds of consultations with the local authorities and communities as well as with the local RCST branches across the country.
The target beneficiaries of the present EAP are: [a] single parent responsible for family of 3 and more; [b] lone elderly people at the age of 63 + for men and 58 + for women; [c] families living in poverty with one or more members with disabilities; [d] families living in poverty with members suffering from NCDs [the information is provided by the District Health Departments]; [e] families living in poverty receiving social allowance from the state that in total will make 6,565 people. The vulnerability factors used in identifying the intervention area included living in the remote, disaster-prone areas with the highest poverty level in the country, which are Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast [GBAO], Districts of Republican Subordination [DRS], Sughd and Kahlton provinces. The activities include spread of awareness messages and alerts, provision of NFIs [electric oil heaters, materials for windows and floor thermal insulation, thermos flasks], and essential food commodities for a family of 5 persons to cover first seven days. It is expected that the humanitarian supplies provided as part of this EAP will strengthen local family solutions and will remain suitable for use during the extreme event.
This EAP will be triggered based on forecast to be provided by the Hydromet of Tajikistan and CoES alert, if temperatures in GBAO exceed the 1 percentile/PCTL [at temperature of below -39.0°C] and in all other areas of DRS, Sughd and Khalton exceed 2 percentile/PCTL [at temperature of below -21.1°C] for 3 or more consecutive days based on the 4-days [96 hours] weather forecast with the 4 days of lead-time that the RCST will have to prepare for an extreme cold wave before it strikes. Feasibility of actions proposed are based on assumptions that: [a] in the days before the event there will be access to vulnerable communities [road accessibility over time, road conditions or absence of strikes and other socio-political disruptions]; [b] the transfer of funds for activation can be accessible on site [Based on that RCST has no capacity to advance their own funds in the time of activation, IFRC and RCST agreed on activation cost availability]; [c] NDRTs are accessible for mobilization and coordination 7 days a week and respond quickly in case of emergency.