PAKISTAN - EARTHQUAKE: PROTECTION SECTOR REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 ISLAMABAD 016641

SIPDIS

STATE ALSO PASS TO USAID
USAID/W FOR A/AID ANDREW NATSIOS, JBRAUSE
DCHA/OFDA KISAACS, GGOTTLIEB, MMARX, RTHAYER, BDEEMER
AID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA
SOUTH ASIA RESPONSE MANAGEMENT TEAM
SOUTH ASIA EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE
DCHA/FFP FOR JONATHAN DWORKEN
ANE DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR MARK WARD
BANGKOK FOR OFDA SENIOR REGIONAL ADVISOR TOM DOLAN
KATHMANDU FOR OFDA REGIONAL ADVISOR WILLIAM BERGER
ROME PASS FODAG
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH
NSC FOR JMELINE
EUCOM FOR POLA/J3/J4/J5
BRUSSELS FOR USAID PLERNER
NEW YORK FOR TMALY
SECDEF FOR SOLIC/PKHA, USDP/J3
JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC FOR J3/J4/J5
HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE FOR J3/J5


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID AEMR ASEC MASS ECON KMDR KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL PK
SUBJECT: PAKISTAN - EARTHQUAKE: PROTECTION SECTOR REPORT


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Summary
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1. Due to the enormity and complexity of this emergency and
the major focus on providing shelter to villages in the
mountains, it has been extremely difficult to monitor relief
distributions in order to ensure that vulnerable
populations, including those without effective male
protection, are identified and receive adequate assistance.
In the urban areas, especially in Muzaffarabad city, one
month after the earthquake there has not been a registration
of vulnerable populations and a prioritization of needs.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),the lead in
camp management under the cluster system, does not have
enough presence on the ground in order to manage the camps.
However, the numbers of unaccompanied children are extremely
low and the government is working with the U.N. Children's
Fund (UNICEF) to register children in order to assess their
needs. The international community is still trying to meet
the population's basic needs such as shelter, but much more
needs to be done to identify and provide assistance to
extremely vulnerable populations such as women-headed
households and children at risk. End summary.

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Current Situation
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-- Relief Distributions


2. The emergency relief operations are extremely
complicated given the mountainous terrain and lack of
information about population movements. The provision of a
safe, warm place to live is the first line of protection for
vulnerable populations as winter approaches. To date, the
bulk of the relief operations have centered on providing
shelter for people remaining close to their homes in the
mountains. However, in order to get these provisions to the
population, the relief community has had to rely on the
government of Pakistan (GOP) military, air drops, and relief
agencies trekking or airlifting supplies to the mountain
villages.


3. Women in Pakistan are severely disadvantaged and
discriminated against, and many fear that the current relief
distribution only reinforces this situation. The issue of
ensuring that vulnerable groups receive adequate supplies is
extremely difficult to monitor given the logistical
difficulties of this operation and the lack of information
about vulnerable populations. Partner organizations asked
about this issue have replied that they must rely on the
villages to distribute supplies fairly. One partner
organization reported that they sent teams to villages to
identify the most needy and vulnerable families. These
families were given tokens to take to a distribution site
the following day. The following day only men attended the
distribution site, and there was no follow-up to determine
whether the neediest families received the supplies. Women
reportedly received tokens, but no women claimed the relief
supplies for which these tokens were issued. Because there
was no monitoring, it is unclear whether the women who
received tokens were able to access the aid for which the
tokens were issued.


4. In urban areas there are many reports that women without
effective male protection are made to sit in tents at GOP or
GOP military sites while relief supplies are distributed to
males first, leaving what is left for unaccompanied women.
In most distribution sites, only men are visible standing in
lines. In addition, the USAID/DART has received many
reports that women are being left behind in the villages to
tend to what is left of their property and livestock while
the men and the children come down to the valleys and urban
areas to receive aid. Some of the men who have come down to
the valleys to receive aid report that there are women-
headed households that are still in the mountains that may
not be able to travel with their families.


5. Some organizations are trying to ensure that families
that do not have effective male protection or vulnerable
families that have taken in separated children are receiving
adequate relief supplies. These organizations do state that
they could be doing more to ensure that such families are
identified and receive adequate relief supplies. Some
report that the first wave of relief distribution was so
overwhelming that they simply have not asked the questions
about vulnerability and that systems are not set up to
ensure that these cases are being identified and addressed.
Setting up these systems will require more resources so that
the GOP military and individuals involved in the
distribution are trained and sensitized to this issue. More
female workers are needed to distribute relief supplies to
vulnerable populations. Additionally, work needs to be done
with communities so that communities ensure that vulnerable
families, especially those without effective adult male
protection, are receiving adequate relief supplies both in
the mountains and the urban areas.

-- Camp Management in NWFP and AJK


6. With the push to get shelter supplies to the mountain
areas there has been less attention focused on camp
management and services in the valleys and urban areas. In
the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP),the GOP is pushing
to establish large IDP camps. In Azzad Jamu and Kashmir
(AJK),the government's policy on establishing IDP camps is
unclear. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
has the lead in the U.N. cluster system for camp management,
but UNHCR staff on the ground have stated that it does not
have sufficient resources, staff, mandate, or leverage to
manage the camps. UNHCR only has a minimal presence of
international staff on the ground.


7. In NWFP, UNHCR stated that the GOP military is doing a
good job trying to set up the camps, but the major
difficulty is finding sufficient land on which to build the
camps and organizations to provide services to the camps.
The GOP military reported that it cannot take care of a
large number of people in camps and is looking for serious
help from the international organizations. The government
in NWFP is trying to set up large camps, because it believes
that many people will migrate down to the valleys in the
coming weeks. UNHCR does not believe that there will be a
massive migration from the Allai Valley and therefore does
not want to put its resources into establishing large camps.
UNHCR is providing the military with 18,000 tents and a very
general site plan for the camps, and it is identifying the
gaps in non-governmental organization (NGO) assistance in
the camps. UNHCR stated that it will only provide
assistance for six months and that it does not have the
ability to provide assistance to the GOP if there is a
massive movement to camps.


8. In NWFP the GOP military is trying to get the government
to take over the responsibility of managing the camps.
UNHCR reported that it believes the biggest issue is the
unregistered spontaneous camps. UNHCR is not concerned with
individuals camping near their homes in a few tents or less;
however, it is extremely concerned over the spontaneous
camps. These camps are being sponsored by political parties
or religious organizations. The conditions in these camps
are unacceptable due to lack of sanitation facilities.
UNHCR has advised the GOP to zone the area and give specific
zones to NGOs to monitor and deliver services to the
spontaneous camps. The GOP should then decide on which
camps should be moved into larger camps and develop a long-
term plan. The International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) reported when they went into these spontaneous camps
they found vulnerable families such as women headed
households that needed assistance. At this time there has
not been a registration of these spontaneous camps in either
NWFP or AJK.


9. In Muzaffarabad city there are many spontaneous
unregistered camps, and to date the GOP has only sanctioned
two camps run by local NGOs. The GOP has not stated its
policy with regard to establishing IDP camps in
Muzaffarabad, and the military in AJK does not have the same
resources to manage the camps as in NWFP. There are many
gaps in the camp services, but water and sanitation is the
biggest problem at this time, and security is also a
problem. USAID is coordinating with the U.S. military to
build hundreds of latrines for these camps, and other NGOs
such as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF),Islamic Relief and
Oxfam are also building latrines for the camps. At this
time, UNHCR does not have the resources on the ground to
effectively manage the camps. This problem is compounded by
the fact that there are few international NGOs on the ground
in Muzaffarabad city providing services. It is clear that
additional assistance is needed in order to provide basic
services for the population of the registered camps as well
as the spontaneous camps. In camps that USAID visited,
people are still lacking basic necessities such as shelter.
In addition, the GOP needs to decide which camps it will
close and which camps it will allow to remain open so that
basic services can be provided that meet international
standards.


10. No international organization is taking the lead
monitoring the movement of people. For example, in AJK
there is no agency monitoring the movement of the population
or any agency receiving individuals when they arrive in
Muzaffarabad to provide basic information on emergency
relief. Organizations do not want to draw people to urban
areas, but people are wandering the city looking for
shelter, tents and supplies. People do not have access to
an ongoing reliable flow of information of where they can
access emergency relief.

-- Health


11. The U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) has stated
that as many as 60 to 80 percent of the basic health centers
and other health care facilities were destroyed in the
earthquake-affected areas. One of the biggest protection
issues facing women is the lack of female doctors and
nurses. Some Pakistani doctors report that women have died
because they could not be examined by male doctors. The
lack of female health care workers is severely limiting
female patients' access to health care. WHO and other health
agencies report that more female doctors and nurses are
urgently needed in the earthquake-affected areas.

-- Child Protection


12. The U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) is the lead on
protection activities for the protection cluster. The GOP
imposed a national ban on the adoption of children for a
period of six months. Islamabad has also restricted the
relocation of children from quake-affected areas to prevent
the abuse and trafficking of children affected by the
earthquake. UNICEF, together with the Ministry of Social
Welfare (MoSW),has begun registering all children currently
living in emergency settlements across quake-hit areas of
Pakistan and AJK. The GOP wants to have some sort of
statistics of affected children including those
unaccompanied, with specifications regarding their age and
gender groups to facilitate future planning. In a joint
effort with the ICRC, the National Database Registration
Authority (NADRA),and several other national and
international NGOs, MoSW intends to devise a comprehensive
strategy to deal with the problems of orphaned, unattended,
separated, injured and missing children. Organizations are
concerned that the MoSW is setting up institutions in other
cities such as Peshawar that will care for unaccompanied
women, children and separated children with vulnerable
families.


13. In conjunction with MoSW, ICRC is identifying
unaccompanied children and tracing their families. There
are very few reports of unaccompanied children by ICRC,
UNICEF and NGOs, and there are only a few unconfirmed
reports of attempted kidnapping. It is clear that the MoSW
will need a great deal of technical assistance and support
in providing care and services for unaccompanied children,
separated children with vulnerable families, women-headed
households with children, and child-headed households. This
is extremely critical in AJK where the government's
infrastructure was severely damaged and many government
workers were killed or lost their homes and other family
members. International organizations and NGOs will have to
advocate for establishing good practices in the area of
child protection and monitor the work of the government.

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Response of USAID Partners
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14. The provision of a safe, warm place to live is the
first line of protection for vulnerable populations. IOM,
Save the Children (SC),ACTED, Catholic Relief Services
(CRS),the International Refugee Committee (IRC),and GOAL
are providing winterized tents, shelter kits, blankets and
other materials for rebuilding. In addition, many partners
are starting to focus on doing more to identify vulnerable
families such as female-headed households and ensuring that
they receive adequate assistance.


15. In the registered and spontaneous camps, water and
sanitation are critical needs, and many of USAID's partners
are working to establish water supplies and latrines. In
Muzaffarabad, USAID is working with the U.S. military to
build latrines in camps where latrines have not been built.
In camps where latrines are being built, USAID's partners
are working to ensure that women have safe access to these
facilities.


16. Credible reports from organizations including UNICEF
cite fliers and other information about religious madrassas
opening up. It is critical that the schools are opened
quickly not only to counter madrassas but also to try and
bring normalcy back to children's lives. In Muzaffarabad,
USAID has worked closely with UNICEF and the U.S. military
to coordinate the removal of rubble from school sites and
set up tent schools as quickly as possible. USAID and
UNICEF have worked closely with the Ministry of Education to
identify school sites, including girls' schools, for rubble
removal and tent distribution. USAID is also establishing
cash-for-work (CFW) programs in Muzaffarabad to remove
rubble from additional school sites. USAID partners are
establishing school-in-a-box programs and will be addressing
psychological and social needs.


17. International NGOs such as SC, World Vision (WV),and
IRC have set up Child-Friendly Centers. These centers are
set up to support play and educational opportunities. These
organizations are reporting that vulnerable families are
identifying themselves. Additional programming needs to be
established to help identify these vulnerable families
without effective male protection, vulnerable families with
separated children, and children-headed households.
However, organizations are struggling to provide additional
resources to these families. With USAID assistance, WHO has
established permanent teams to provide mental health
assistance in the region.

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Gaps, Additional Needs, and Recommendations
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18. The first wave of relief distribution was so
overwhelming that many organizations simply have not asked
the questions about vulnerable families focusing on women
and children. Adequate systems are not set up to ensure
that these cases are being identified and addressed. These
systems will require more resources so that the GOP military
and individuals involved in the distribution of relief
commodities are trained and sensitized to identifying
vulnerable families and ensure that they receive relief
supplies. In addition, more female workers are needed to
distribute relief supplies to vulnerable populations and
address health care issues for female patients. Work needs
to be done with communities so that they ensure vulnerable
families, especially those without effective adult male
protection, are receiving adequate relief supplies both in
the mountains and the urban areas.


19. A registration and prioritization system must be
created for vulnerable women and children in the urban
areas. UNICEF and the GOP are registering children, but the
purpose of this registration is unclear. In addition, it
will take a considerable time to register all children in
the quake-affected areas. Once identified, these groups
must have access to relief supplies, psychological and
social help, and other resources.


20. UNHCR stated that they will only provide limited
assistance for six months and that they do not have the
ability to provide assistance to the GOP if there is a
massive movement to camps. The GOP and military have
better control over the situation in NWFP than in AJK.
While there is more control, information, and planning with
the registered camps in NWFP, there is still a critical need
for additional services in the camps, including latrines and
security. In AJK, the information concerning which
spontaneous camps will be kept open and where additional
camps will be built is extremely confusing. To date in
Muzaffarabad city, the government has only designated two
camp sites. There are still significant needs in these two
camps for basic services. However, the water and sanitation
issues are finally being addressed in most of the camps.
The GOP needs to decide which spontaneous camps will be kept
open and designate additional sites. Many of the conditions
in the spontaneous camps are unacceptable. UNHCR needs to
identify additional partners to provide basic services in
the camps and needs to address the spontaneous camps in both
NWFP and AJK. UNHCR needs additional staff and more
resources. More international NGOs are needed to work in
the camps to provide basic services on a long-term basis.
This is an extremely urgent issue that is being overshadowed
by the critical need to get shelter to the mountain areas
and the lack of enough UNHCR staff on the ground.


21. More assistance needs to be provided for female
patients. The lack of female health care workers is
severely limiting female patients' access to medical
services. WHO and other health agencies report that more
female doctors and nurses are urgently needed.


22. More technical assistance should be provided to the
MoSW. This technical assistance would help the GOP deal
with the issue of unaccompanied children now and create a
long-term plan to handle these issues in the future.


23. It is clear that the MoSW will need a great deal of
technical assistance and infrastructure support in
identifying and providing care and services for
unaccompanied children, separated children with vulnerable
families, women-headed households with children, and child
headed households. International organizations and NGOs
will have to advocate for establishing good practices in the
area of child protection and monitor the work of the
government in this area.