Funded by Oxfam
Location: District Pishin
Summary: According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) there were at least 43 casualties due to snowfall in Balochistan while figures quoted by the media are higher. However, PDMA has already declared an emergency and requested humanitarian organizations to extend immediate assistance in affected areas. Provincial government requested humanitarian organizations to support in conducting needs assessment, providing shelters, NFIs, food, medicines, establishment of relief camps, reconstruction / rehabilitation of houses, water, health and educational facilities, and for reviving livelihood of affected population.
In the above scenario WESS and Oxfam in close collaboration with PDMA carried out a rapid need assessment in target areas of Harnai and Ziarat. The aim of the assessment was to assess the immediate needs of the affected population along with other impacts on their livelihoods. The assessment took around four days to visit both the districts. Due to harsh weather and road block in some places, it took more time as predicted in the beginning of the assessment.
WESS rapid need assessment revealed that there was a dire need to work for the affected population of mentioned districts and assist the affected population through provision of food, shelter, fuel, winterized clothing/bedding and other essential commodities, because the people were stuck for more than 08 days in their homes. Apart from above livestock, upon which a reasonable count of population survives, found on the edge of disaster in the form of mortality if another spell of snowfall occurs because there is significant shortage of fodder for livestock. In this situation, women, children, older people and people with disabilities were more vulnerable and humanitarian support for them needs to be prioritized. If immediate assistance is not provided to the affected populations, it may result in loss of human lives, disease outbreak and psychosocial issues. The affected population, children, women, older people, PWDs and people living with damaged or leaked shelter were more vulnerable due to the extreme cold. The situation along with unavailability of food, lack of winter clothing, lack of food supplement for humans and lack of feed for livestock making it difficult for communities to cope with this situation.
After rapid need assessment, a NOC for one month was assigned to WESS to start its work through the support of Oxfam. In this regard Oxfam arranged quilts, tarpaulin and ropes for 400 families of the target areas. Initially two UCs were targeted but eventually one another UC was added in close coordination with district government. With the financial support of Oxfam, the assigned work was successfully completed well before the assigned time.
Summarized recommendations of the Rapid need assessment
- Winterization support through provision of quilts, blankets and protection sheets to protect human and animal sheds
- Provision of non-food items/tools to handle with clearing roof tops to repair their houses
- Provision of food items for poorest families specially to meet nutrition need of children
- Health/WASH: Due to the damages of houses (partially/fully) there is need of hygiene kits, jerry cans, household water filter to reduce the risk of any secondary disaster
- This may also include tarpaulin made latrines nearby houses to protection children from harsh weather condition
- Stove and kitchen accessories
At coordination level the methodology was based on seeking permission and no objection certificate from PDMA. In this regard NOC was granted timely by PDMA to assist the affected families of target districts of the area.
At beneficiary selection level the methodology focused on identification of those groups who were severely affected by snowfall and poorest families of the target areas. In this regard household level format was developed to assess the damage of snowfall on lives and other livelihood of the targeted families. This helped in selection of households according to set criteria.
Selection criteria was based on following points
- Damage to human live or injuries
- Damage to livelihood sources (animals, assets etc)
- Priority to HHs whose monthly income falls below PKR 15,000 per month
- Older headed population
- Women headed households
- Person with disability
- A compound with more than one family and falling in above categories were also facilitated
Related Inputs and Projects
- WESS distributed 400 winterization items in 400 families
- WESS has strengthened coordination with all stakeholders i.e., communities, district authorities, PDMA and will all other agencies
- Consistent interaction with line department and INGO for effective service delivery
- Timely procurement of goods/materials
- Monitoring support provided to the project by WESS/Oxfam Senior management staff, who monitored and facilitated the project activities on a regular basis
