Action by Churches Together (ACT)
ACT Situation Report
Pakistan 13/05
November 21, 2005


Information supplied by ACT member Church World Service 
(Pakistan/Afghanistan office)

General situation

An international donors conference was held on November 19 to raise the 
US$5.2 billion Pakistan needs to recover from last month's earthquake. 
About 300 delegates from around 50 countries and a host of global 
financing and aid groups participated. The amount sought by Pakistan 
includes US$3.5 billion for long-term reconstruction of infrastructure 
and US$1.7 billion for relief and immediate rehabilitation of survivors. 
As the conference opened, the Asian Development Bank unveiled a 
billion-dollar package of grants and loans, the lion's share from a new 
credit line to be opened up in 2006.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said so far only 30 percent of 
relief aid has been received in response to the UN's appeal for 
rehabilitation of quake survivors in Pakistan, while during the tsunami 
disaster, 80 percent of the desired amount was received within 10 days. 
The criticism came after Annan saw for himself the devastation of the 
quake in stricken areas of Azad Kashmir, where he described the task 
still facing aid workers as "gigantic."

The Pakistani government has said it is ready to introduce a 
"third-party auditing and validation system" to satisfy international 
donors' concerns about transparency in the use of funds for 
reconstruction activities in the earthquake-hit region. In a meeting 
with Islamabad-based foreign diplomats and representatives of 
international financial institutions, President Pervez Musharraf offered 
every possible guarantee for fair distribution of aid and 
corruption-free reconstruction.

A representative of the UN Fund for Population Activities has said it 
has mobilized about $5 million to revive health systems and to train 
community-health providers in basic maternal care in the 
earthquake-affected areas, where it is estimated that 8,500 women will 
give birth every month, almost 600 of whom are expected to experience 
complications, sometimes requiring surgical care including C-sections. 
Almost half a million women will receive reproductive health information 
and services in this initiative.

Church World Service-ACT response

School started on November 17 at the CWS-ACT tent village; 300 children 
attended and were taught by five teachers.

The first psychosocial meeting was held at the camp on November 18 with 
22 women in attendance. The meeting gave the women an opportunity to 
highlight any issues or problems they are facing. The psychosocial 
program aims at involving women in decision making regarding the camp, 
involving them in activities related to the camp and giving them an 
overall sense of control over their lives. The CWS team plans to have 
meetings with a cluster of women (based on tent row formations) each 
week.

On November 21, CWS is calling a meeting of all actors that are 
providing services to the camp. These include: CWS; the army; Terre des 
Hommes; Lady Health Visitors; those running the basic health care unit 
and the school; and ACT member Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), which is 
providing the water and sanitation facilities.

Keeping in mind the needs of small children and the winter weather, 
sleeping bags for children under 2 were to be distributed in the camp 
November 19. These baby sleeping bags were provided by NCA.

CWS, along with its partner, The Diocese of Raiwand, is in the process 
of setting up a basic health care unit in Rawalakot. It is estimated 
that 5,000 patients would benefit. The basic functions of the unit will 
be to provide:

- check-ups and immediate treatment to outpatients
- medical care to inpatients
- referral services for patients requiring special care or surgical
   intervention
- rehabilitation facilities for those who have lost or injured a limb
- a mobile clinic to provide immediate health care services from place
   to place


Several days ago, the CWS distribution team visited the village of 
Dandai, where it identified 100 vulnerable families. When the team 
returned to Dandai on November 16 to distribute goods, it was greeted by 
an angry mob whose stance was that everyone in the village was 
vulnerable and therefore should receive relief goods. The team decided 
to withdraw from Dandai and furthermore not to deliver goods to this 
village. This incident highlights the difficulties of distributing goods 
without the assistance of the army. Alternative approaches were 
discussed, including the possibility of traveling in the company of an 
army presence.

The CWS distribution team was expected to leave November 18 for Chathar 
Plain in Battagram to distribute relief supplies to 100 vulnerable 
families it had identified. The team includes female members in order to 
ensure that women's needs are met and are not forgotten during the 
relief operation. Several days ago, following a request made by the 
Pakistani Red Cross and Red Crescent (PRCRC), a female CWS team member 
accompanied PRCRC on its assessment of needs. She returned to confirm 
that gender-balanced teams were necessary because women-headed 
households, widows, etc., who found it difficult to reach central 
distribution points, or who were uncomfortable in the company of men 
they did not know, were missing out on the distribution of goods.

The distribution team left November 19 for the union council of Hulkot 
in Battagram, where it distributed 150 food packets and 150 shelter kits 
to the most vulnerable. The team decided to begin a needs-assessment 
program in the different localities of Battagram today (November 21).

Meetings and visitors

Marvin Parvez, director of the CWS-Pakistan/Afghanistan program, was 
invited to attend the November 19 international donors meeting in 
Islamabad referred to above.

On November 18, a four-member delegation from DanChurchAid, including a 
member of parliament, a member of the Copenhagen city council, a 
photographer/journalist and DCA's emergency relief coordinator, visited 
the CWS Islamabad office. The delegation also visited the CWS Mansehra 
office and Shohal Najaf camp, where they met with survivors, army 
officials and basic health care unit officials. They also visited the 
school and spent some time with the children.

For regular updates from the Pakistan office of ACT member CWS, visit 
www.cwspa.org/earthquake.

Sources: Web sites of Geo TV, AAJ TV, Dawn, Reuters Television Network, 
Daily Time and the Nation; field reports of CWS needs-assessment team 
and Pakistan Humanitarian Forum meeting minutes.


For further information, please contact:
ACT Communications Officer
   Callie Long (mobile/cell phone +41 79 358 3171)
ACT Information Officer
   Stephen Padre (mobile/cell phone +41 79 681 1868)


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Action by Churches Together (ACT) is a worldwide alliance of churches and
their related agencies, meeting human need through co-ordinated emergency
response.  The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of 
Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.
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