Pakistan er præget af nødsituationer såsom jordskælv og store grupper af flygtninge. Men sikkerhedssituationen er mange steder så ringe, at hjælpeorganisationerne har svært ved at udføre deres arbejde. Dertil kommer at landets bureaukrati er kvælende.
QUETTA, 27 November 2013 (IRIN): The September earthquakes in Balochistan offered a microcosm of aid work in Pakistan: Humanitarian needs were high – nearly 400 died and thousands lost their homes – but to respond, aid workers had to brave gunmen taking pot-shots at their vehicles and government restrictions on their work.
The country’s humanitarian situation is dire, with 1.6 million Afghan refugees living in the country, 1.5 million people affected by this year’s monsoon floods, around 1 million people internally displaced (fordrevet), and 15 percent of children under age five suffering acute malnourishment (underernæring).
And yet, for humanitarian NGOs, Pakistan remains a difficult place to deliver aid, both because of the security challenges and the paperwork.
“Security concerns have definitely affected us and restricted access to communities, notably after 2012 and the killing of our worker in Quetta,” Najum Ul-Saqib Iqbal, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told IRIN.
The ICRC reduced activities in Pakistan after the attack, which occurred in April of last year.
“However, the need for assistance, of course, remains. We kept our presence in Pakistan and right now are seeking permission through the Foreign Office for some health projects,” Iqbal said.
He told IRIN that although the ICRC enjoyed diplomatic status, in the field it faced “just the same” risks as other organizations.
“Those working in the health sector are especially at risk, and we are also trying to raise awareness about this. The killing of a doctor affects not just that person, of course, but many others, including those being served by that professional,” Iqbal said.
Risking lives to save lives
Threats associated with health work were underlined a few days ago when 11 teachers were abducted in Khyber Agency, one of seven tribal agencies on the Pakistan-Afghan border, during a polio vaccination drive at their school. Local officials blame militants opposing the administration of the vaccine.
Abdullah Siddiq, 35, a labourer in Balochistan, used to rely on a small clinic in his home town Pishin, 50km north of Quetta. But this month, when his six-year-old son fell sick, he had to travel to Quetta.
“He suffers fits, but the government hospitals have failed to help him. I cannot afford private care, and the small clinic in Pishin, which used to be run by an NGO and had doctors that really helped us, closed down two years ago,” Siddiq told IRIN.
The Pishin clinic was a victim of the insecurity. “We ran that clinic for nearly 10 years,” said Ilyas Khan of the NGO Help, headquartered in Quetta. “But then we had to close it as there were just too many threats to the doctors working there.”
The recent earthquakes in Awaran District, Balochistan Province, posed a particular challenge for aid groups, even though, for some local officials, they highlighted the need for humanitarian workers:
“We need many organizations, many humanitarian groups, working here to meet needs. There are not enough right now,” Jan Muhammad Buledi, spokesman for the Balochistan provincial government, told IRIN.
Few international organizations were in place when the earthquakes hit. According to the latest annual report from the Pakistan Humanitarian Forum, which represents more than 50 international NGOs (INGOs), only 14 INGOs are active in Balochistan.
Even fewer, seven, work in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), while 38 work in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province. These are the three areas of Pakistan most prone to insecurity.
“The international groups do not really work in the field in places like Awaran. That is all left to us,” said Anwar Kazmi, spokesman for the Pakistani social welfare NGO Edhi Foundation.
Yet the needs are enormous in these areas.
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) rates Balochistan the “least developed” of Pakistan’s four provinces, with 56 percent of its people categorized as “multi-dimensionally poor.” But work by humanitarian organizations is severely limited, principally because of an armed insurgency by separatists.
“The truth is that the NGOs, especially international groups, work in areas that are accessible, not where needs are greatest,” the head of a national NGO, who asked not to be named, told IRIN. “Going beyond Quetta in Balochistan, into districts where most work is needed, is simply not safe. The same applies in KP and FATA,”
Harder times on the horizon?
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