Islamic Relief’s Response:

According to the Emergency Response Unit  (ERU) of the NWFP government, more than four million people have been displaced by the conflict in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. In response Islamic Relief launched an appeal for £5 million to assist displaced people and host families.
Islamic Relief is providing a comprehensive package of support to more than 2.5 million people.
Currently this work is focused within the District of
Mardan where more than two million displaced people have settled.
People are facing shortages of food, clean water and sanitation facilities, and the influx of so many IDPs has brought the health system close to collapse. The vast majority of displaced people are living with local families or in public buildings such as schools and hospitals. This crisis is affecting the host population as well as those who have been displaced, which is why Islamic Relief is supporting the host community as well as the IDPs.

Mercy Centres

Islamic Relief is establishing Mercy Centres as hubs from which it is providing a package of support, including healthcare, psychosocial care, child friendly spaces and educational activities. The Mercy Centre in Surkh Dheri, in Char Gulli Union Council is now fully operational. Six other Mercy Centres – four in Rustam and two in Char Gulli – are under construction and will be operational imminently.

Psychosocial Support

Around 80 per cent of the displaced population are children, many of whom are suffering from trauma as a result of the conflict and their displacement.
To assist these children, a team of psychologists and teachers based at the Mercy Centres are providing children with educational support, counselling, as well as access to safe play areas. In addition, psychologists will work with parents to help them effectively support their children who have been traumatised.
Islamic Relief’s psychologists have begun work to identify children in need of psychosocial support and counselling at the Surkh Dheri Centre and during visits to the Char Gulli Basic Health Unit and the Rustam Civil Hospital, and have begun to develop interventions for individual children.
To support this work, Islamic Relief has also trained 28 teachers and their assistants on Child Welfare and Protection in Emergencies. The teachers will work alongside the psychologists in the child friendly spaces at each Centre.

To support this work, Islamic Relief has also trained 28 teachers and their assistants on Child Welfare and Protection in Emergencies. The teachers will work alongside the psychologists in the child friendly spaces at each Centre.

Healthcare

Islamic Relief health teams are providing healthcare at the Basic Health Unit (BHU) in Char Gulli and the Rustam Civil Hospital that were struggling to meet the needs of the IDPs and the local population. We have also established two mobile health teams that will provide medical care out of our Mercy Centres.

This week two female doctors were recruited to the Islamic Relief health teams. As women in this region are reluctant to visit male doctors, they will ensure that displaced and local women have access to healthcare, which is crucial in order to protect the health of pregnant women and new mothers.
In the past week the Islamic Relief health team carried out 1,022 outpatient department consultations at the Char Gulli BHU, the Rustam Civil Hospital and the Surkh Dheri Mercy Centre. The most common problems identified were scabies, diarrhoea and respiratory tract infections, largely caused by the lack of clean water and sanitation facilities and overcrowded, unhygienic living conditions.

Sultan Zeba’s story

58-year-old Sultan Zeba (above) left her village in Swat with her family three weeks ago when it  became too dangerous for them to stay.

A few months ago Sultan Zeba had an operation on her knee and it is still causing her much pain. She also suffers from hypertension, and found the long journey and the stress of finding somewhere safe to stay very difficult.

Sultan Zeba and her mother-in-law came to the health centre in Char Gulli where Islamic Relief is providing free healthcare. She said, “We cannot afford to buy food so there is no way we can afford medicine. This free health care service is a blessing, as without it we would have been left to suffer.”

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

The lack of clean water and sanitation facilities, and unhygienic living conditions are major concerns for displaced people and the local community. It is not uncommon for more than 20 people to be sharing one room, often with no access to running water or a sanitary latrine. This is fuelling the spread of diseases such as diarrhoea, scabies and respiratory tract infections.

On 12 June 2009 Islamic Relief engineers completed Water and Sanitation assessments in 25 schools and households which are sheltering IDPs in Rustam and Char Gulli.

Initial findings suggest that sanitation facilities need to be constructed or repaired in 60 per cent of the households and schools surveyed, and water supplies will need to be constructed or repaired in 40 per cent. At one school in Khairabad it was found that there was no working latrine between 452 individuals.

Next week Islamic Relief will begin work to install hand pumps, latrines and washing places to meet these needs. Islamic Relief has also recruited a Water Quality Monitoring Officer who will be assessing the water quality in our operational areas next week.