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Updates on the crisis and CARE's response
At least 5 million people in Pakistan and India were affected by the massive earthquake that struck in the early morning hours of October 8. More than 87,000 people have died, and more than 3 million are without homes. The harsh Himalayan winter is expected to be even worse than usual this year, creating fears of another wave of deaths from hypothermia, pneumonia and other respiratory infections — particularly among children — among those with no or inadequate shelter and poor sanitary conditions.
Women, some of whom were injured in the quake, have been faced with the stress of having to cook in improvised kitchens, collect water from distant and often unsafe sources and care for their families in temporary living quarters.
Emergency operations
CARE, in cooperation with our partners, continues to work hard delivering lifesaving supplies — including winterized tents, plastic sheets, blankets, shawls, metal buckets and other essential supplies — to help earthquake survivors.
Without enough winterized tents to go around, many people in the earthquake-affected region began moving south in search of warmer weather. Those most at risk from the extreme cold are the estimated 1.5 million people who haven’t found shelter — for many of them, the prospects of finding properly winterized shelter are running out.
In addition to simply delivering tents, we're coming up with innovative housing solutions that provide shelter from the elements and are much safer if another earthquake or aftershock strikes.
Results on the ground
In India, CARE and our partners have delivered:
- 22,000 blankets
- 7,500 water storage tanks
- 2,000 feminine hygiene kits
- 15,000 woolen jackets
- 7,500 waterproof tents
- 10,000 floor mats
- 15,000 kangri (traditional heaters)
In Pakistan, CARE has been busy delivering emergency supplies, including:
- 4,500 tents
- 8,000 blankets
- 4,000 plastic mats and sheets
- 14,600 shawls
- 8,500 water bottles
- 6,500 hygiene kits
- 75,000 water purification kits
Health care needs
| (©2005 Jeffrey Austin/CARE) |
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Poor living conditions, including inappropriate waste management and waste generated by relief efforts — including medical waste — have made improving health care a priority.
In Pakistan, CARE is helping the Awaz Foundation, Sungi and Environmental Protection Service create an innovative program to relieve pressure on the overcrowded hospitals by creating halfway houses — medical facilities that accept patients who don't need critical help and give them a place to recuperate where they can be with their families.
Read more about the new medical facilities opening in the earthquake zone.
Shifting priorities
CARE's emergency relief efforts in India are at an end, though we are continuing to provide disaster relief and long-term recovery efforts in Pakistan. The rescue and maintenance phase of our effort will run through February 2006.
In March 2006, we plan to begin the rehabilitation phase of our response, which will include rebuilding infrastructure, including roads, culverts, bridges, community centers and schools. CARE will be working with survivors to help them regain their livelihoods, improving access to education and health services, promoting human rights and building up the capacity of local partners to continue work in the community after we have left the area.
Current necessities
An estimated 50,000 people will spend the winter in the Allai Valley without adequate shelter. To help these families survive the winter, CARE created a winterization package which includes:
- Two fuel efficient stoves
- Adequate blankets and quilts
- Hygiene kits for women
- Corrugated, galvanized iron sheets for roofing
- Plastic sheeting for insulation
- Shovels, pick axes, hammers, saws, rope, wheel barrows, nails, and washers to improve existing buildings
In addition to providing supplies, we will also help these families either to completely winterize the tent where they are living, or to establish one "warm room" in their temporary homes.
We are making progress every day, but CARE's work is far from over. Even after the initial emergency, CARE will continue our poverty-fighting work in Pakistan and India, helping people tackle the greatest threats to their security and prosperity. We need your help to carry out this vital work.
Please help us work with those affected by this disaster to rebuild their lives.
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