USAID-RSPN BAHAAL Project - Emergency Relief and Early Recovery Project for Flood Affectees Across Pakistan

At the end of July, heavy rains triggered both flash floods and riverine floods in several parts of Pakistan, resulting in loss of life, widespread displacement and damage. These floods affected more than 20 million people. In the aftermath of these floods, the American people took an initiative to help the people of Pakistan through the provision of emergency relief and early recovery assistance. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) signed the $8.234 million Bahaal Project with RSPN, to provide emergency relief assistance in 16 districts of the four provinces of Pakistan.

Rural Support Programs Network (RSPN) is implementing the Bahaal Project activities in partnership with the following RSPs:

·         National Rural Support Program (NRSP)
·         Punjab Rural Support Program (PRSP)
·         Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO)
·         Balochistan Rural Support Program (BRSP)
·         Sindh Graduate Association (SGA)
·         Sarhad Rural Support Program (SRSP)

This project is providing support to74,055 households, totalling 487,292 beneficiaries, through emergency relief and early recovery interventions by providing the following:

Agriculture Inputs and Animal Feed Supplements for Livestock: The Bahaal Project will give assistance to flood affected farmers to recover agriculture-based livelihoods for food security. This will be achieved through provision of agricultural-inputs and animal feed supplements. A total of 29,307 households, representing a population of 192,851 will benefit through this support activity. The agriculture and food security package includes: DAP, urea, wheat seed, cash grant for land preparation, and animal feed supplement (vanda).

Emergency Shelter: The purpose of this support activity is to give immediate access of shelter to flood affectees by providing shelter kits to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). A total of 6,239 households representing a population of 41,053 will benefit through this support activity. These shelter kits include the following items: canvas tarpaulin sheet, bamboo poles and rope.

Transitional Shelter:This shelter was included in the revised Bahaal Plan with a view to provide the flood victims with a relatively more permanent solution to their housing problem. The transitional shelter consists of one room with a covered area of 280 sq ft. Its floor will be made of compacted earth and wheat straw and will have one window and two ventilators for ventilation. A total of 6,879 households are expected to benefit from these shelters which will serve a total population of 45,264. The materials required for these shelters include mud work, mud plaster, door, window, ventilators, plastic sheet, girder, bamboos and sercanda/mate and the beneficiaries are constructing the shelters themselves.

Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health (WASH) Services: Under this support activity, the flood affectees will have immediate access to potable water and a healthy environment. A total of 20,313 households representing a population of 133,658 are being targeted. This support activity will be achieved through provision of provide the following items: hygiene kits, installation / rehabilitation of hand pumps, jerry cans and water purification tablets. Under this support activity a large cadre of local activists will be trained to improve the health and hygiene conditions in the flood affected areas. These activists will then be able to launch a hygiene campaign in the project area.

Non – Food Items: Keeping in view extreme cold in flood affected areas, Bahaal is providing quilts and cotton mattresses along with pillows for the flood affected families so they can cope with winters. In this regard, a total of 11,317 beneficiaries representing a population of 74,466 are being targeted. 

Sindh Emergency Response 2011

As in 2010, Sindh has been the province worst hit by the floods that came in 2011. In 2010, the floods were caused by burgeoning river waters. This time, however, torrential rains have struck the area itself, causing calamitous damage to the lives of approximately 8.1 million in Sindh (according to the latest NDMA Statistics). Almost all the districts of the province have been affected with Badin, Ghotki, Hyderabad, Khairpur, MirpurKhas, N.Feroz, Sanghar, Shaheed Benazirabad, Tando Allah Yar, Tando Mohammad Khan, Umerkot, Tharparkar and Khairpur being the most severely affected.

In these 12 districts alone, the total affected population is almost 8 million. In the District of Mirpurkhas, more than 700,000 people have been affected. One of the reasons why RSPN chose Mirpurkhas was because the number of unserved and underserved flood affected population was much greater than in other districts. Moreover, the tehsil of Jhuddo chosen in consultation with the local administration, had witnessed little or no relief activity because of the tehsil’s inaccessibility due to flooding of roads leading to this tehsil. National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) is the implementing partner of RSPN in the Mirpurkhas district. NRSP has already been working in the area, undertaking many community development initiatives with community organizations.

Progress Report Mirpurkhas as of 3 November 2011

Sindh Field Report Mirpurkhas as of 30 October 2011

Field Monitoring Reports

Bahaal Project Cash for Work Field Monitoring Report 22-29 April 2012

Bahaal Project ERS Field Report 26 January 2012

Bahaal Project ERS Field Report 30 December 2011

Bahaal Project ERS Field Report 30 November 2011

SindhBahaal Project ERS Field Report 30 October 2011

Progress Reports

Bahaal Project Progress Report ERS as of 31 December 2011

Bahaal Project ERS Progress Report Mirpurkhas as of 3 November 2011

Bahaal Project Progress Report ERS as of 30 November 2011

Project Completion Reports

Bahaal Project ERS Completion Report 2011-2012

Photo Gallery

Activities

USAID Pakistan Mission Director, Mr Andrew Sisson, Visit

Complaint Redressal Mechanism

In case citizens believe there is fraud/abuse/waste observed in any USAID project, they may report possible cases to the Anti-Fraud Hotline established by USAID and Transparency International, Pakistan. More information on the Hotline can be found here: https://www.anti-fraudhotline.com.

Disclaimer
“This web content is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the sole responsibility of Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.”