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IFRC World Disaster Report 2011 stresses need for changes to deal with humanitarian crisis
ISLAMABAD: The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) suggested in the World Disasters Report (WDR) 2011 that the emerging agenda of future humanitarian action will require transformations in the behavior of most humanitarian organizations besides changes in the ways that the international community deals with future humanitarian crisis.
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Dr Zafar Iqbal Qadir was the chief guest at the launching ceremony of World Disasters Report here on Monday.
IFRC Head of Pakistan Delegation Karen Helene Bjornestad, International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and Partner sister national societies representatives were also present on the occasion.
The IFRC which is the largest humanitarian organisation in the world operates through it’s member national societies in each country, and in Pakistan it is the Pakistan Red Crescent Society which is the forefront of activities in Pakistan. The WDR is an annual publication that many Disaster Management Practitioners, academia, media, humanitarian actors and the civic society looks forward to every year. In addition to presenting disaster data it also focuses it’s attention on a particular theme each year.
This year the focus is on the growing crisis of ‘Hunger and Malnutrition.” Although the world produces enough food to feed everyone, in 2011 almost 1 BILLION men, women and children go to bed hungry every night.
Karen said this report analyses the causes and impacts of such vulnerability at community, national and international levels – during and after emergencies and from a longer term perspective. It examines the challenges of the globalized nature of food –related vulnerabilities, and the need for cross –disciplinary approach. High level of malnutrition among the flood affected communities of Pakistan is one of the most challenging humanitarian problems that we are faced with today.
According to a survey Global Acute Malnutrition rates were 22.9 percent in northern Sindh and 21.2 percent in the south. These rates were well above the World Health Organisation’s 15 percent emergency threshold, which triggers a humanitarian response.
The survey indicated that millions of women and children were at particular risk, and that the scale of the problem had been widening due to extreme poverty, poor diet and health, exposure to disease, and inadequate sanitation and hygiene.
These existing problems have been exacerbated by consecutive Floods in 2010 and 2011 experienced in Sindh. The loss of food stocks and the destruction of crops have further increased food insecurity among these communities.
NDMA Chairman Zafar Iqbal Qadir on the occasion said that the keeping in view the threat of food insecurity, improving agriculture practices is only one of the solutions to prevent hunger and the government and donors should promote the participation of local farmers and the productivity can be increased up to 20 percent if gender discrimination were to be eradicated.
He said Pakistan Floods 2010 devastated parts of Pakistan, affecting more than 20 million people and in the immediate aftermath of floods, malnutrition was identified as one of the key problems and infant feeding practices were assessed as having suffered directly from the catastrophe.
Undoubtedly there was an increase in disease in the affected areas due to the sudden and protracted displacement of large number of people; so many neither the authorities nor humanitarian organizations could meet the people’s basis need.
He said that the recent disaster in Pakistan were such a huge in nature that it was not possible for the government to cope with these disasters alone while most of the humanitarian organizations involved in disaster management in Pakistan are donor dependent and this dependency means that their efficiency and effectiveness to handle these disasters is reactive rather than proactive.
Qadir said that the humanitarian funds are generally short term and only focus on coping with an immediate disaster and there is a little incentive to build or strengthen the capacity of local institutions to manage what is often an endemic problem that occasionally becomes crisis.
PRCS Director Operation in his welcome address said that the food insecurity is a global phenomenon but in Pakistan particularly, the Floods 2010-11 has further aggravated the food insecurity in the affected areas as over 70 of the percents crops were destroyed by these flood.
As these affected areas were already malnourished there is a dire need of more funding from the international community to cope with the needs of the victim.
He said government should also enhance the capacity of organization such as a PRCS through enhanced budget provisions to improve their sustenance towards handling disasters that are occurring much more frequently than ever before.
Dr Abid Sulehri, Executive Director SDPI also spoke on the occasion and stressed the need for steps to tackle the issues of hunger and malnutrition.
Surein Peiris, IFRC Humanitarian Diplomacy Delegate, Pakistan at the end of the ceremony thanked all the participants and hoped that this report will be a way forward to cope with the future challenges.
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