Sixty per cent of Pak quake survivors still displaced

New Delhi, Oct 15 (UNI) A year after a devastating earthquake in northern Pakistan killed 73,000 people and rendered 3.3 million homeless, relief efforts continue to be dramatically inadequate with 60 per cent of the survivors being still displaced and over 90 per cent of the affected in dire need of assistance in view of the approaching winter, says a study.

"Our findings are alarming. Too many earthquake survivors are facing another winter without basic amenities and adequate shelter," says Anisya Thomas, Managing Director of Fritz Institute, a California-based non-profit organisation that specialises in improving global disaster relief operations.

Over 90 per cent of the population expressed that they remain in need of assistance with food, shelter and livelihoods almost a year after the earthquake in view of the coming winter, says the study.

Sixty-three per cent of survivors report a loss of income, with the people at the lowest income levels most affected. Before the earthquake, only three per cent reported inadequate income for survival, while today 31 per cent report not having enough income to survive.

Nearly one-fifth --- 19 per cent ---- of the survivors said their lives would never be normal again, said the report, adding: ''In a culture where independence is prized, self-sufficiency has dropped significantly. Poverty is increasing.'' One year after the earthquake, over 50 per cent of people surveyed reported that they still needed and had not received assistance with food, water, livelihood and clothing. The unmet needs for shelter, counselling and medical care were 38 per cent, 39 per cent and 46 per cent, respectively.

Overall, earthquake survivors who had received help expressed satisfaction with the assistance provided. Those dissatisfied with services noted their frustration with the process of aid provision.

Aid recipients, for example, noted a lack of transparency in aid distribution leading to perceptions of inequity. A lack of cultural appropriateness of aid was also identified by beneficiaries, who reported their dissatisfaction with the inability of women to observe purdah in tents and camps.

Those who did receive help overwhelmingly identified the Pakistani government, including the military, as the principal provider of aid, with over 75 per cent expressing satisfaction with government assistance. Over time, the role of international NGOs has increased and they are now the main providers of food, medical care, and toilet and sanitation services. Local NGOs had a relatively small presence according to the survey respondents.

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