Concern Worldwide Pakistan Floods 2010
“Six Months On” ~ February 2011
Frequently Asked Questions
Contents
Overview ................................................................................................................................................... 2
What was the situation in Pakistan prior to the flooding? ....................................................................... 2
What was the impact of the flooding? ..................................................................................................... 2
What is the situation now? ....................................................................................................................... 2
How long has Concern been in Pakistan? ................................................................................................. 3
How did Concern respond to the flooding? .............................................................................................. 3
What emergency supplies did people receive? ........................................................................................ 4
Where did Concern get its supplies? ........................................................................................................ 4
How much has Concern spent? ................................................................................................................ 4
What is RAPID? ......................................................................................................................................... 4
How does Concern coordinate with other agencies on the ground? ....................................................... 5
Was Concern prepared for the floods, and how is Concern helping people prepare for future
disasters? .................................................................................................................................................. 5
How does Concern involve local people? ................................................................................................. 5
Many of the flood-affected areas are also affected by conflict. How does Concern ensure that its work
does not exacerbate tensions in these regions? ...................................................................................... 6
Why should we give money to Pakistan? ................................................................................................. 6
What about longer-term recovery projects? ............................................................................................ 6
What is Concern doing to restore agriculture? ........................................................................................ 7
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Overview
At the end of July 2010, Pakistan’s worst ever flood ravaged the country. More than 20 million
people were affected across the four provinces, leading to Concern’s largest ever emergency
response in Pakistan. Over the last six months, Concern provided approximately one million
people with emergency assistance including drinking water, latrines, shelter, non-food items,
food packages, debris removal kits, and emergency medical services.
What was the situation in Pakistan prior to the flooding?
In Pakistan, 60% of the population of 174 million people live on less than $2 per day,
compounded by frequent disasters and conflict that lead to an inescapable cycle of poverty for
the most vulnerable. Most of the poor live in rural areas, and the northern province of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) has the highest levels of poverty in Pakistan. This area, which was the first
affected by the floods, was affected by conflict in 2009 and 2.5 million people were displaced
from their homes. When the floods arrived, Concern was already working with 80,000 displaced
people in this area.
What was the impact of the flooding?
By mid-August 2010, 20 million people were affected by the floods across the whole of
Pakistan. 1.7 million homes were damaged or destroyed and 3.2 million hectares of agricultural
land was flooded. Road, rail and communication networks were massively disrupted; livestock,
crops and seed banks were washed away. The loss of animals, poultry and seeds, as well as the
damage to agricultural land and irrigation and transport infrastructure, crippled farmers’ ability
to produce food. The scale of the emergency was colossal. The sheer geographic reach and the
enormous numbers of people requiring assistance made this one of the most challenging
humanitarian responses in an already politically complex environment. Given the extent of the
crisis, Concern undertook its biggest ever emergency response in Pakistan.
What is the situation now?
Six months after the onset of the flood, and the majority of those affected have now returned
to their villages and many have begun rebuilding their homes. Altogether, the government
estimates that nearly 95% of those displaced by the floods have returned home. However,
displacement remains an issue, particularly in Sindh and KPK and it is estimated that
approximately 178,000 people are still living in camps. Around three-quarters of those are in
Sindh.
For those who have returned, life is still very difficult. The Red Cross has estimated that
approximately four million people affected by the flood remain in desperate conditions without
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adequate shelter. Pakistan continues to suffer from an especially cold winter, and so people
require winterization kits and shelters.
UNICEF indicated that malnutrition in Pakistan is increasing dramatically, and may surpass
levels seen in countries such as Somalia and Niger. The food security situation in Pakistan is
likely to worsen significantly in the coming months. Organisations responding to the crisis,
including the UN, have requested nearly US$1.94 billion from the international community for
the response. However, so far only $958 million has been received, around half of what is
needed.
How long has Concern been in Pakistan?
Concern first responded to flooding in Pakistan in 1992, and has been fully operational there
since 2001, when we responded to the Afghan refugee crisis on the border with Afghanistan.
Concern later moved into long-term development work in the provinces of Baluchistan, Punjab
and KPK. Concern works with a number of local NGO partners, and has forged strong links with
government departments at local, provincial and federal levels. During the last nine years, apart
from the Afghan refugee influx, Concern responded to a range of disasters such as the 2003 and
2004 earthquakes in the northern areas and KPK, repeated flooding in Baluchistan and Sindh,
the massive earthquake in KPK/Kashmir in October 2005 and the 2009 conflict with led to an
Internally Displaced People (IDP) crisis.
How did Concern respond to the flooding?
At the end of July 2010, Concern and its local NGO partners immediately launched a response
to meet people’s urgent humanitarian needs. The speed and effectiveness of this was helped
by Concern’s previous work in building up and working with a network of partners in
preparation for such an event (more details below). Concern was therefore in a position to
respond immediately, and we conducted our first assessments on the 1st of August 2010.
Over the last six months, Concern has met the emergency needs of approximately one million
people by providing emergency supplies. Concern’s response has included:
food
clean water (provided through the repair and construction of drinking water systems
and by delivering water with tankers)
hygiene kits and health/hygiene awareness sessions
latrines
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household supplies, mosquito nets and blankets
debris removal kits
temporary shelter, plastic sheets and tents
mobile medical camps/clinics
What emergency supplies did people receive?
Food packages included flour, sugar, rice, tea, edible oil/ghee, salt, lentils and biscuits. Other
items distributed included mosquito nets, jerry cans, floor mats, plastic sheets, tents, soap,
kitchen sets and blankets.
Where did Concern get its supplies?
Concern’s initial distributions were possible due to prepositioned emergency stocks kept
specifically for such emergencies. Concern also has a well developed procurement system in
Pakistan with strong links with local suppliers, which was key to the rapid provision of relief
goods. The majority of Concern supplies are procured locally in Pakistan and Concern is
responsible for the procurement and transportation of relief goods to the affected areas.
How much has Concern spent?
Concern Pakistan’s total budget for the emergency response in 2010 was €18 million (which
includes €12 million for regular programmes and €6 million for the RAPID fund). In-kind
contributions were also received during the flood emergency, with 5,000 NFIs, tents and
hygiene kits donated by UNHCR; 15,000 Shelter Kits (tarpaulins and ropes) donated by the
German government through WHH/GAA; and 186 tents, 400 ropes, 169 tarpaulins, and 8,000
blankets donated by Irish Aid.
What is RAPID?
Concern’s experience in identifying and assessing local partners was a key factor in being
awarded the US Office for Overseas Disaster Assistance (OFDA) funded ‘Responding to
Pakistan's Internally Displaced’ (RAPID) grant. Under RAPID, Concern in Pakistan is responsible
for overseeing the disbursement of approximately US$18 million in grants to organizations
providing humanitarian assistance in emergency situations in Pakistan. RAPID is responding to
emergencies across all four provinces in Pakistan and is focused on the following sectors:
Health, Logistics Support, Relief Commodities, Shelter and Settlements, Water, Sanitation and
Hygiene (WASH) and Economic Recovery and Market Systems (ERMS). It is expected that RAPID
will reach more than 1,150,000 people.
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How does Concern coordinate with other agencies on the ground?
Concern is actively participating in government, UN coordination, humanitarian clusters and
Pakistan Humanitarian Forum meetings and is making every effort to ensure there is no
duplication while working to complement the activities of other agencies and the government.
Concern implements projects in close coordination with relevant government departments, the
UN Clusters (WASH, Shelter and Early Recovery) and other national and international NGOs at
local, provincial and federal levels. Concern is on the executive committee of the Pakistan
Humanitarian Forum (PHF).
Was Concern prepared for the floods, and how is Concern helping people
prepare for future disasters?
Given the regularity of natural and complex disasters in Pakistan (which make already poor and
vulnerable communities even more vulnerable) Concern has integrated disaster risk reduction
(DRR) strategies in all of our emergency projects. In 2007, Concern launched our “Emergency
Response Strategy” in Pakistan. Under this strategy, Concern identified potential local partners
in disaster prone areas and invited these organizations to become contingency partners.
Concern then provided training on rapid needs assessment, disaster management, disaster risk
reduction, distributions and emergency response best practices. In the event of an emergency,
Concern and the local organization activate the partnership into a formal response (if funds are
available). The relationships are based on training and support in order to promote quality
work, and partnerships are managed on the principles of accountability and transparency.
Concern also carefully monitors any potential over-stretching of our local partners’ capacity,
especially in major disasters. Concern Pakistan also continues to maintain stocks of emergency
response items, such as plastic sheets, hygiene kits, latrine slabs, jerry cans, etc. to enable us to
respond to sudden onset emergencies.
This work proved to be extremely valuable in response to the flooding in July 2010. The
contingency planning and emergency preparedness enabled Concern to respond immediately
by activating appropriate local partners from our network of 36 Pakistani organisations across
the country.
How does Concern involve local people?
Concern always seeks to involve communities at all stages of an emergency response through
community meetings, focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews, and other forms of
participation. In Pakistan, local volunteers were involved in assessments and relevant
government department officials were consulted. With the involvement of local volunteers
from affected communities, beneficiaries are identified and assisted based on pre-agreed
criteria. Flood affected families, local community elders, and volunteers from local Community
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Based Organizations (CBOs) also help during distributions and are involved in monitoring the
projects.
Many of the flood-affected areas are also affected by conflict. How does
Concern ensure that its work does not exacerbate tensions in these regions?
Concern and our local NGO partners always strive to “do no harm” and will try to ensure that
our humanitarian assistance does not become part of the dynamic of local conflicts. Concern
provides assistance in ways that are supportive of recovery and long-term development, and
minimize any longer term harm. The projects are planned and delivered in close collaboration
with communities, relevant government departments and local community based organizations
and volunteers. This local “social capital” ensures that we are effectively providing assistance to
the worst affected households. Concern also ensures that no individual staff or community
representative can create a situation where s/he is perceived to be the sole and final authority
in allocating benefits. In addition, the projects also have channels for lodging and redressing
complaints.
Why should we give money to Pakistan?
Even prior to this colossal disaster, 60% of the population of 174 million people in Pakistan lived
on less than $2 per day. This was compounded by frequent disasters and conflict which lead to
an inescapable cycle of poverty for the most vulnerable. For example, in the nine years that
Concern has worked in Pakistan, we responded to a range of natural disasters such as the 2003
and 2004 earthquakes in the northern areas/KPK, repeated flooding in Baluchistan and Sindh,
the massive earthquake in October 2005 and the IDP response in 2009/2010.
Most of the poor live in rural areas, and KPK has the highest levels of poverty in the country.
This area, which was first to be affected by the floods, was also affected by conflict in 2009,
when 2.5 million people were displaced. These people have once again lost everything. As
always, Concern is committed to working with the most needy and most vulnerable, particularly
the sick, elderly and female headed households, to provide both immediate relief and to
support them in rebuilding their lives.
What about longer-term recovery projects?
In areas where the water has receded and communities have returned to their places of origin,
Concern is helping people restore their livelihoods, as well as continuing to provide water and
shelter. Concern is focused on enabling those affected to return to their normal lives and
livelihoods. In 2011, under our existing early recovery interventions, Concern already has plans
to reach 220,000 people. However, with more projects in the pipeline, it is likely that we will
eventually reach more than 400,000 people through:
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food security and agricultural support for small farmers;
transitional shelter;
cash-for-work and income-generation opportunities;
water, sanitation and hygiene services;
restoring livelihoods and community infrastructure projects.
What is Concern doing to restore agriculture?
In Pakistan, small farmers’ main income comes from wheat. Stocks were damaged by the floods
and therefore there is a shortage of wheat grain for seeds. Farmers have no money to buy
seeds and other inputs. Small farmers also do not have access to the machinery, know-how
and/or manpower necessary to deal with level of damage to their agriculture lands (standing
water, water logging, and broken irrigation systems).
In response to this, activities will look to improve the condition of farm land, restore agricultural
production and provide labour opportunities. This will ensure that those involved in agriculture
have both food and income. The project will provide quality seeds, fertilizers, and cash grants.
Women will receive basic training on kitchen gardening. They will be provided with seeds and
training to grow vegetables in their home gardens, helping them to meet their families’ dietary
needs. Based on local demands, seeds for vegetables like tomato, onion, pumpkin, okra,
spinach, radish, turnip, etc. will be provided for kitchen and small scale cultivation in both
winter and summer season.
Small landholders and landless people who lost their agriculture tools and water containers due
to flooding will receive tool kits. These tools have multiple uses in agriculture, irrigation, debris
clearance, house construction, etc. The kits are designed in consultation with the local farmers
based on their priorities and include various kinds of implements used by the local farmers.
These toolkits will help small landholders/poor farmers to undertake effectively their day-today agricultural work and cost approximately $35.
Concern will also help communities to restore critical agricultural infrastructure (irrigation
channels, water courses etc). Cash for work (CFW) will be provided and wages will be set in
consultation with other agencies working in the area and in line with local wage rates. Concern
will target resource poor small landholders, tenants, sharecroppers (men/women) and female
headed farming households. This and other schemes will ensure that people can earn a living
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while they are not able to undertake their normal seasonal agricultural activities. The focus will
be on skilled/unskilled daily wage labour and other vulnerable groups including women. This
will ensure that people will have much needed cash/income to fulfil their daily needs.
Concern’s assistance also includes unconditional cash grants to those extremely vulnerable
families who have no land, livestock or other assets and who are also not able to benefit from
income generation activities.
ends
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