NEW DELHI (AlertNet) - Pakistan is facing the worst floods in a generation where over 14 million people -- almost one in 10 Pakistanis -- have had their lives disrupted.
The disaster has killed more than 1,600 people and inundated up to a third of the country -- devastating towns and villages, destroying communications lines, washing away bridges and roads and damaging thousands of homes, schools and hospitals.
The United Nations says around six million people require aid urgently and has appealed to international donors for $460 million for the next three months.
AlertNet interviewed four experts on various aspects of the catastrophe. The experts were Neva Khan, Pakistan Country Director, Oxfam GB, Malini Morzaria, South Asia Information Officer, European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (ECHO), Elisabeth Rasmusson, General Secretary, Norwegian Refugee Council and Paras Tamang, International Emergency and Conflict Team Advisor, ActionAid.
There's been criticism that the response by government and aid agencies has been very slow. What's your assessment of the humanitarian response so far?
Neva Khan: I think that this is a very fair criticism. We are talking about 14 million people who have been affected and it is a struggle against time to make sure that their very basic needs -- food, clean water, shelter, access to healthcare -- are met quickly. The response at the moment is not adequate for the scale of the crisis and that is my biggest concern. We are trying to mobilize everyone to do much more and a lot of that is dependent on funding at the moment. The amount of money which has so far been committed to a crisis of this scale is just peanuts. A huge amount more needs to happen and it needs to happen now. Tomorrow will be too late for a lot of people.
Malini Morzaria: Hundreds of thousands of people now affected by the floods were already in a vulnerable position due to the conflict in some areas of the country and the high number of internally displaced persons, especially in the north. In some cases, the relief stocks prepositioned by humanitarian organisations have been damaged or destroyed by the floods. Partner relief organisations of the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) were already working in the conflict-affected areas, so they were able to assist the flood victims very quickly in those places where they had access. Relief organisations also had to scale up human resources to meet the scale of the disaster. It is very understandable that someone directly affected by serious floods is going to be frustrated in a situation that is very fluid and changing almost daily and where the urgently needed help may not always be available in a way it should in an ideal situation.
Elisabeth Rasmusson: This is really a mega crisis and I don't think anybody understood at the beginning how bad it was going to get. There is clearly not enough capacity nor enough people and resources. But I think we have to take into consideration the magnitude of the crisis when we speak about the response to the crisis. Six million people are in need of humanitarian assistance Â? that is more than the entire population of Norway. We really have to speed up and scale up.
Paras Tamang: I would, at this time, think that the humanitarian community is doing all it can to respond to the disaster along with the civilian government and the army with its limited resources. The scale of the disaster itself -- 14 million people affected and an area the size of England underwater -- is a huge challenge for a country already with an internal political crisis to deal with.
How effective were the early warning signals? Do you think enough preparation was made in advance?
Neva Khan: I think the scale of the disaster is enough to knock any government it is a disaster of magnanimous proportions. However, the preparation work and early warnings were not adequate and the main reason why is because scientific data provided by the metrological department was not accurate enough. In May, they forecast PakistanÂ?s monsoon season this year to be normal, but it has been quite the opposite -- it has been a monsoon season of extreme rain and flooding throughout the country. But even after getting the predictions wrong, we could have done more as we saw the impact further north in Khyber Pakhtunkwa Province on the 29th and 30th of July and could have reacted in a more timely and efficient manner in the south. We should not be having the same extent of the problem in areas like Sindh and Punjab, in my opinion, because there should have been the preparation and work and there was the time to do that. The problem, I think, was that we were just not ready to be proactive enough, particularly given all the different complexities of Pakistan that exist.
Malini Morzaria: These are the worst floods that Pakistan has seen in decades and they were not expected in the scale that we have seen. Early warning is difficult with flash floods so in the early stages of the crisis there were lives lost. However, as the scale emerged and the water moved southwards, people were evacuated from certain areas and this has certainly saved lives. Compared to the scale of the disaster, the number of deaths is actually very low, but every life lost is a personal tragedy.
Elisabeth Rasmusson: My opinion is that the early warning systems have not functioned the way they should have and clearly not enough people have been evacuated. I think it is important now is to look into the reasons why this did not happen. Why werenÂ?t people informed? And those that knew, why didnÂ?t they take action and evacuate more people?
Paras Tamang: The early warning system was effective enough to get people away from vulnerable areas, those who were willing to move. However, people attached to their homes and livelihoods were reluctant to move away quickly. People found it hard to believe that such a large scale flooding would occur.
What do you think of the response from international donors to appeals for aid so far?
Neva Khan: For the scale of this type of disaster, it doesn't not seem to be enticing the kind of interest from donors as we would imagine. At least six million people need urgent assistance. This is more than those who were affected by the 2005 earthquake here or the Haiti earthquake earlier this year or the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. For some reason, there doesnÂ?t seem to be that drive or motivation to dig deep into people's pockets as previous disasters, which is unfortunate. I think the reason is because of a combination of factors such as the death toll being relatively low, donor fatigue and also because of the economic crisis. However, I still think when you have something of such scale, where people have literally had their livelihoods wiped out, that something would be figured in any human being that we really need to mobilize and it hasnÂ?t been as quick enough. I think things are changing and more interest is being generated, but time is of the essence and we have to move fast.
Malini Morzaria: The European Commission has adopted two humanitarian aid decisions for vulnerable people in Pakistan in the last 10 days worth 40 million euros ($52 million). In addition, EU member states are also providing bilateral humanitarian aid and offering in-kind civil protection assistance to Pakistan. The European Commission has relief experts on the ground monitoring and evaluating the situation. We are coordinating our assistance with the UN and are in touch with other donors and organisations. Europe will continue to support the population in need. If necessary, the European Commission could request more funds.
Elisabeth Rasmusson: Response from donors has been very bad, very slow. I think there is a combination of reasons. Some donors think that Pakistan is not that poor and that they can cope with the disaster. There is also donor fatigue. But I also think that the UN and the Pakistani government have not been professional enough to communicate the crisis enough earlier. There should have been more communication before the Emergency Response Plan was launched on Thursday. There could have been some rough estimates to warn donors about the severity of the disaster. Prior to the appeal, the amount registered was just peanuts so clearly those donors who contributed didnÂ?t have a clue about the magnitude and severity of this catastrophe. I am not confident at all that donors will come forward. So thatÂ?s why I think that we all have to work very hard to push donors. We also need to use the media which is crucial to get the message out.
Paras Tamang: Looking at the trend of aid flow at the moment, it will be a challenge for the government and aid agencies to respond to the disaster effectively. When you consider 2.5 million people directly affected and who have lost homes and livelihoods, the amount of funds required is huge. However, institutional donors and governments are showing promise like Disasters Emergency Committee raising over 10 million pounds, and ECHO coughing up 20 million euros, hopefully this trend would continue. The UN sending out appeals is also hopeful.
Are you concerned about Islamic groups linked to militants taking advantage of slow humanitarian response in some areas to provide aid in order to win support?
Neva Khan: It doesnÂ?t surprise me to hear stories of militant groups trying to win the hearts and minds of people particularly in inaccessible areas. At the end of the day, we have to remember that Pakistan is a complex country and that there are many people and many groups with different interests. That is why the humanitarian community, including Oxfam, has a priority to ensure basic needs are met in an efficient way and to try to keep it as apolitical and neutral as possible. Everyone would be concerned about such things but this is not something that is new. It happened during the 2005 earthquake and during the displacement crisis last year and it is going to happen during these floods.
Malini Morzaria: Most disasters in any country inspire a lot of good will in the non-affected population. The important thing is to have the timely delivery of humanitarian aid to the people most in need in an impartial and independent manner; without being political or otherwise biased. This has proven to save lives and this is why international humanitarian law is in place; so that the people most at risk get help to overcome the crisis.
Elisabeth Rasmusson: In such a huge crisis, any one who has response capacity should use that response capacity. However I am very much against using humanitarian assistance for winning hearts and minds or converting people to religion of whatever. Humanitarian aid should be provided according to humanitarian principles.
Paras Tamang: We are hearing from the media that this is already taking place and I hope that this aid is provided with a humanitarian perspective and not a political one. The reality is people need support whether they are living in sensitive areas or not. What we do know is that the aid we give will reach those in need rather than benefitting any armed groups.
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