PAKISTAN: Government neglect in drought-affected region leaves thousands malnourished in Tharparkar District

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information concerning the plight of several thousand villagers suffering from hunger and malnutrition due to the severe drought that has affected the Tharparkar District over the past ten months. Drought has been a common occurrence in the area, and while several welfare assistance programmes exist in the country, the villagers in the district have not received any form of aide. Each day the hunger situation worsens as people continue to lose their source of livelihood due to the drought.

The current drought in Tharparkar has left many villagers suffering from malnutrition and other hunger-related illnesses. The villagers rely on the consumption of milk from livestock as their primary source of food but the drought has killed off a larger number of animals, and milk production has severely dwindled. Livestock comprises of almost 80 percent of the district’s economy, and the shortage of animals has also significantly decreased the villagers’ purchasing power. Thus, the victims can neither rely on animal husbandry and farming in the village as a source of food, nor can they afford to buy food in the markets. Potable water also does not exist in the area anymore as most of the ground wells have gone dry. This has increased the incidence of malnutrition and the young, elderly and pregnant being more susceptible.

The drought has also affected other areas of the victim’s lives. Massive numbers of out-migration to unstable parts of the country has resulted due to the lack of food, water and income in Tharparkar. By the end of April 2006, it was estimated that 42 percent of the village’s 1,200,000 residents had left their homes in the district. This has led to increased insecurity among women and children, a 10 percent increase in school dropouts who are now in search of employment, and a lower cost of labour.

On December 19, 2005, the Government of Sindh, through a notification, declared the entire district of Tharparkar as a calamity affected area, however no relief measure have been taken thus far in the affected area. This inaction comes in light of a meeting recently held by the Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) in Islamabad that was expected to approve the allocation of funds for the second phase of a relief assistance programme geared towards drought-affected areas. The first phase, known as the Drought Emergency Relief Assistance (DERA) was recently completed and deemed satisfactory in providing short-term development schemes in drought-hit areas by both the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. However, no relief from this assistance programme has gone towards the victims in Tharparkar District.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Drought has been of serious concern in the district in recent years. Since 1990, the people in Thar have faced 11 droughts. The District Administration has repeatedly recommended that assistance be provided by the Government of Sindh to the affect areas, but the government has only recognized a few of the droughts. In this drought season, the Government of Sindh has only provide subsidized wheat for two of the ten months that the drought has persisted, and all agricultural taxes and fines were still levied despite the area being considered in a state of calamity. Part of the problem stems from the procedure in which a district can be declared as drought-affected; it usually takes between three to eight months for the Government of Sindh to approve the notification by the district administration and even more time to provide assistance, causing even further malnutrition in the interim period.

Several civil society organizations have come together in order to address these concerns and draft a better system in which drought-affected areas can be declared and assistance can be provided. Drafts and proposals from these organizations, many which have also been shared with the Prime Minister, Chief Minister of Sindh and several other government officials, include the following recommendations:

• The Sindh Calamity Act 1958 must be amended and reformulated as a Drought and Disaster Policy.
• The district government need be delegated the power to declare any area as a calamity-hit area in a timely manner.
• A special fund in the annual budget of the Sindh and Federal government should be allocated, and the district government must be authorized to utilize the funds.
• The Union Council leaders should be authorized to distribute relief goods in their respective union councils.
• A separate department should also be set up to cope with disaster conditions, at the district and provincial level.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the relevant authorities below, urging them to investigate the hunger situation that has resulted from the drought in Tharparkar. Food and relief assistance must be immediately provided to the victims. Furthermore, the steps taken in drought-affected areas must be modified. Please urge the government officials below to examine the procedure taken in calamity-affected areas and request that the district government is given more authority and funds to allow for them to provide assistance in an appropriate and timely manner.

 

 

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