Civil Society Flood Situation Report
Report -2, November 23, 2011
Prepared and released by
Peoples Accountability Commission on Floods [PACF]
Introduction and Background
Peoples Accountability Commission on Floods [PACF] Pakistan is a joint network of flood affected communities, volunteers, civil society activists, media persons and other stakeholders aimed at raising collective voice on the issues being faced by the flood affected communities of Sindh province of Pakistan. The Commission is engaged in mass mobilization, community awareness, networking, research, advocacy and lobbying to raise the issues faced by the flood effected communities
This report
Issuing situation report about the flood affected communities of Sindh is one of the key activities of PACF. The network has already issued its first report which received quick encouraging media response. This is its second report
Objectives of the Report
· To highlight the real situation and the challenges being faced by the flood affected communities of Sindh province of Pakistan
· To highlight the gaps and issues in flood response and recovery of the flood affected communities by the government and international communities
· Bring forward the voice of the flood affected communities on the issues being faced by them
· Prepare and present suggestions for pro poor and sustainable relief , recovery and rehabilitation of the flood affected communities as per international humanitarian standards
Overall situation of the flood affected communities
Period of the disastrous situation is passing, with leaving an impact on the affected and humanitarian communities. Response to the mass of population in worse affected areas where still the peoples are waiting for a positive and sustainable option of livelihood. Creating the standards and resumption of livelihood into a normal human life is a defying task for civil society doyens. Retelling the story communities has been continuously proposing for disinterested system to cope where almost 1.8 million displaced (51% female) according to UN OCHA the total number of temporary settlements was estimated to be 6000 adjacent dispersed areas in Sindh.
The overall humanitarian support to the flood affected communities is discouraging as only 35 percent of the UND Appeal Amount for the flood affected communities has been collected. As a result, humanitarian organizations have not yet initiated their flood response projects in different sectors. Over all response funding needs be raised for a proper response to need based communities, as the statistics shows that USD 230,809,885 is needed more, requirement is too huge to meet the target funding for batter renaissance of indigenous inhabits.
NDAM Wrong Decisions Still Affecting Flood Affected Communities in Sindh
The decision of NDMA not to allow the humanitarian organizations in the initial days of monsoon rains / floods to provide humanitarian support to the flood affected communities of Sindh is still haunting the flood affected communities as due to such wrong decision, still the international humanitarian organizations are not picking their speed for providing support to the flood affected communities and many of their have decided not to engage in the activities of providing support to the flood affected communities after being dejected by the wrong decision of NDMA and its policy of centralizing the release support systems in Pakistan.
The key objective of National Disaster Management Authority [NDMA] is to save the lives and livelihoods of the local communities in the case of onslaught of any disaster; however the same NDMA refused to allow the UN and other international organizations to provide relief support to the local flood affected communities. A number of UN agencies and international NGOs wrote letters to NDMA right in August and September to come with the support of the local communities in the form of relief as they had already sensed the gravity of the situation. However, they were refused to allow them to provide relief to the local communities. Although the political statements with regard to managing the disaster at government level came from the leadership of Sindh Government during the initial spells of rains, however, it is said that Sindh Chief Minister Sayed Qaim Ali Shah gave such statement on the basis of presentation / advice given to him by NDMA officials.
The refusal to allow international communities to provide support to the flood affected communities resulted in the delay of at least one month to the relief support to the flood affected communities. This resulted in increased death due to no proper preparedness and resources for the rescue of the people and the affected communities also could not receive timely relief. Delay in the rescue and relief activities became responsible for hundreds of death of the flood affected communities.
Ban on Cash support to the flood affected communities: Another Wrong Decision by NDMA
After its wrong decision of not allowing international humanitarian agencies including United Nations organizations to provide support to the rain/ flood affected communities in the initial days, NDMA has once again come with anti people decision. NDMA Has issued a policy decision in which it has banned distribution of cash grant amount among the flood affected communities by the national and international organizations. In fact Cash for Choice happens to be key support program of the humanitarian organizations in the initial post disaster days to provide cash to poorest of poor and most vulnerable households. During the floods of 2010 humanitarian agencies distributed billions of rupees among poorest of poor and most vulnerable households in different districts of Sindh. The flood affected communities mainly spent this amount of purchasing food for them and some of them used the amount on the treatment of their ill family members. Thus this activity played a key role for the food security and health improvement of the flood affected communities in Sindh province in 2010.
Now in 2011 while putting ban on the provision of cash for choice to the local flood affected communities NDMA has not only violated the international laws on human rights and humanitarian support in crisis, but also stood as responsible for creating food insecurity among the poorest of poor flood affected communities of Sindh province.
Social sector stressing on the implementation of cash for work and unconditional cash transfers, on another hand policy decisions taken by NDMA has been neglecting the truth that the cash provided to peoples can similarly be used for multiple benefits, either the peoples use the money for health, shelter development or to satisfy their ends and scarcities.. The policy Decisions taken by NDMA regarding Floods-2011 includes this policy not in brief; it articulates that “cash transfers to affected communities, unconditional distribution of cash would not be allowed by any agency as communicated earlier to the UN HC.”.
Neglecting the benefits of unconditional transfer’s government is increasing the risks. The unconditional cash transfers include social pensions, disability pension, child and family support grants, and other cash grants to vulnerable individuals and households, where as a number of research studies proving the operational benefit of unconditional cash transfers can’t be neglected easily. Feasibility status of unconditional cash transfers in a number of grant deliveries is appreciated in the third world countries.
In an effort to ‘break the cycle’ of food aid dependency in countries like Ethiopia, and to avoid the long-term institutionalization of food aid programs like in southern Africa, governments and their development partners are exploring alternatives to food-based safety nets. Many of these involve unconditional cash transfers to a range of identified vulnerable groups (IDS IN FOCUS ISSUE 01 SOCIAL PROTECTION MAY 2006).
Whilst some of the arguments in favor of unconditional transfers (based on evidence from African countries) include:
- recipients invest some of their cash transfers in education and health anyway so there is no need to compel them to do so
- conditionality’s are paternalistic and interfere with people's right to choose how they allocate their resources
- linking social transfers directly to public services requires well-functioning services
- the burden of adhering to conditionality’s falls disproportionately on women
Issues in WATAN CARD
Cash support to the flood affected communities by the Government of Pakistan through WATAN CARD has in fact increased their sufferings and opened many new vistas of corruption. According to field survey by PACF still majority of the flood affected communities in the worst affected districts have not received their WATAN CARDS. The process of issuing WATAN CARDS by NADRA is rather slow. On the contrary new processes and systems have been evolved through the agents by whom people receive their WATAN CARDS after paying bribes ranging from Rs 500 to 1500 per WATAN CARD. In majority of cases the officials of NADRA compel the flood affected communities to contact agents for WATAN CARDS.
Standing in queues for six to eight hours for receiving WATAN CARD is a normal practice for the flood affected communities, which is having worst effects on the elders and women especially. There are cases deaths of ill people due to standing in queues for many hours. This is violation of international commitments with regard to humanitarian support especially violation of SPHERE Standards which apply to the activities of humanitarian support.
Status of Shelter Support
While some of the camps in district Thatta, Badin, Mirpur Khas and Snaghar has been reduced shortly and likely to happen in the mid of December. According to independent reports from the field the peoples now want to get back to their own towns in near future. While the tents and shelter was provided to 35 percent and so the scale of distribution creates problems in winter cold. The need of blankets and advanced protective shelter to reduce the risk of pneumonia, cold, cough and nasal and lungs congestion, so the peoples are more vulnerable to the diseases caused by the extreme cold. While UN OCHA statistics on shelter suggests 797,000 homes either destroyed or damaged, many of the estimated 1.2 million returnees have returned to homes that either need to be repaired or entirely rebuilt (Report No. 12).
The statistics of shelter items shared of NDMA suggests that major part of tents distribution has been taken place in Sanghar 16,642 till 21-November, while in total NDMA has provided 120,460 tents to each of 22 rains affected districts.
Delayed Dewatering Process
The governmental response to hose the waterlogged areas of Sindh is even a mess to tackle, although government reports are unsatisfactory in this case. Media has been playing a role and provocatively increasing their investigation. Local peoples are also protesting to drain the rain even after the three months period has been passed away an example of this situation has been reported too in Khipro where Eighteen hundred hectors of irrigable land are under water. The similar situation is in Golarchi, Badin, Umar Kot, Sanghar and Banazirabad as well.
Status of Health Related Support
Cases of respiratory illness are rising day to day, and it can even rise to a greater number of illnesses and can be another suggestive catastrophe in the start of New Year. Illness from 24.4 percent to 25.8 percent during the past week is a prominent increase, so in order to tackle the situation the response has been given in number of ways too. In this matter Health kits, mini health kits, hygiene kits, aqua tablets, jerry cans, water filters, mosquito nets are being provided while a major portion goes to emergency health kits distribution in the areas. Centers are also been established to tackle the issue of acute respiratory illness (ARI) in 21 districts of Sindh which will start working in December for confrontation of winter borne diseases.
Status of Support in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
The UN reports have been suggesting that there have been a 10 per cent decrease in the number of people getting water from protected sources in some districts of Sindh and more than a 5 per cent decrease in piped water sources in others. It also found that more than 312,000 people in 40 per cent of the settlements had to walk for more than 30 minutes to reach a water source. (Situation Report No. 12, UN OCHA)
Type of Assistance
|
Assessed Needs (Items)
|
Response (Items)
|
Gaps
|
Emergency Shelter (tents and tarpaulins)
|
796,861
|
441,354
|
45%
|
Blankets (2 per household)
|
1,593,722
|
126,572
|
93%
|
Kitchen sets (1 per household)
|
796,861
|
75,002
|
91%
|
Bedding and mats (2 per household)
|
1,593,722
|
106,266
|
94%s
|
Report: Situation Report No. 12 (UN OCHA)
| |||
Recommendations
1. NDMA should lift the ban on unconditional cash programs, where as the cash programs for unconditional pay systems are highly encouraged in developing countries. Such type of cash transfers are evenly delivered in climatic hit areas, such as flood and rain affected, earthquake affected, battle fields etc.
2. Inquiry should be conducted on the motive of two key wrong decisions by NDMA, including ban on the humanitarian organizations to provide support to the flood affected communities in the initial days and ban on the cash programs. Severe punishment should be given to those responsible for these wrong decisions
3. NDMA Should be revamp by making institutional reforms this key agency making its decision making and policy process more decentralized and the role of civil society and disaster affected communities should be increased in the policy and decision making process of NDMA
4. Dewatering process in the flood affected areas should be made affective to dewater flood affected towns, villages and land as the flood affected communities could be able to return back to their homes and engage themselves in their agriculture and other livelihoods
