ACT Alliance Alert: 2011-12 Flood Rehabilitation in Sindh Province, Pakistan

Alert

Pakistan

2011 - 12 Flood Rehabilitation in Sindh Province

Geneva, 29 June 2012

1.       Brief description of the emergency and impact

Pakistan is still facing an emergency situation following the devastating floods of 2010 and 2011.  Sindh was the most affected province where monsoon rains overwhelmed 22 out of 23 districts. According to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the monsoon rains affected over 10 million people, more than half of whom were women, in Sindh alone. Particularly worrying due to Pakistan’s dire financial situation, is the fact that standing crops on 10 million acres of land (out of the total 14.2 million acres of fertile land in Sindh Province) were totally devastated.[1] The floods caused an estimated loss of $7 billion to Pakistan’s agrarian economy as over 2.5 million bales of cotton, 2 million tons of rice, 4 million tons of sugarcane and several other small crops have been destroyed.  Furthermore, the loss of livestock was substantial, with approximately 0.1 million head of cattle reportedly perished in the floods. The social amenities, civic and communication facilities such as phone, electricity, transportation etc. were suspended in most of the flood affected districts of Sindh.

2.       Why is an ACT response needed

The total population reached by the forum by 29 February 2012 (in previous ACT Appeal PAK111), amounted to approximately 10,824 households who received food, non-food items, winterization kits, access to mobile medical camps and village cleaning kits.  It was also able to distribute shelter kits to 2,195 households.   With the very limited funding received for the ACT appeal PAK111 to assist the most vulnerable affected following the floods in 2011, the majority of the affected population have still not recovered from the emergency. With the uncharacteristically hot summer and the threat of the upcoming monsoon season, it is imperative that immediate early recovery assistance be provided to save lives.

3.       National and international response

The local and international NGOs in Pakistan were not able to raise sufficient funds for this emergency. Even the UN Appeal received less than 5% of the funds it requested. As such, the response has been dismal and slow. With the approaching monsoon season, the humanitarian community is developing contingency plans based on current gaps in the recovery process, vulnerabilities of communities, and the need to help communities become better prepared for disasters.

4.       ACT Alliance response

In September 2011, the ACT forum in Pakistan launched a joint appeal to respond to the emergency needs of the affected population. The appeal included Church World Service – Pakistan/Afghanistan (CWS-P/A), Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) and ICCO and Kerk in Actie. Earlier this year, in May 2012, the NCA component in the appeal was revised to include an early recovery and rehabilitation activities which are planned to be completed by end 2012.

5.       Planned activities

Based on rapid needs assessments, the current needs are centred on food security, WASH, health and protection. As such, the forum members are planning to respond along these lines. CWS-P/A, whose emergency phase was completed on 29 Feb 2012, is planning to launch a follow-on appeal focusing on livelihood/food security activities for affected families in Badin District.  NCA is currently carrying out WASH and livelihood activities (cash for work) under PAK111.

6.       Constraints

The main constraint at the moment is the severe lack of funding/resources to provide a significant response.

Any funding indication or pledge should be communicated to Jean-Daniel Birmele, ACT Chief Finance Officer (jbi@actalliance.org)