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September 2006, Vol. 12, No. 3Population Assessment On the morning of 8 October 2005, an earthquake registering a minimum magnitude of 7.6 struck Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The earthquake left devastation, with more than 73,000 dead and 100,000 injured. Many of the more than 3 million people who were displaced or homeless were moved to tent camps set up by the government and relief agencies. Others moved to tents erected wherever homes were uninhabitable. The earthquake occurred just before the start of winter snowfall, which threatened a second round of disaster if effective aid did not reach people quickly. In order to develop a viable rehabilitation plan and to provide such aid, the Pakistan government and relief agencies needed accurate data on the refugees housed in tent camps. Like many people in the regions surrounding the earthquake, Population Council staff members in Pakistan sought to do what they could to provide relief to people affected by the disaster. They started a fund to which employees could contribute; gathered donations of food, clothing, and other necessities; and held weekly meetings to discuss the situation. “But we thought we could do more and really use our skills as researchers to help,” says Zeba Sathar, country director for the Population Council in Pakistan. “We attended government meetings and quickly found that until that point, assessments of the populations in the tent camps had not been conducted with scientific rigor. The data—particularly for the most vulnerable people: orphans, widows, people with disabilities, and the elderly—were inadequate.” The Population Council was asked by the United Nations to gather data on the people living in tent camps. (Other people affected by the earthquake were in hospitals or living with family or friends.) The Council collaborated with the Pakistan Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education, the United Nations Population Fund, and the United Nations Children’s Fund to complete this study. Council researcher Arshad Mahmood led the team. The main objective was to locate and assess the size and needs of the most vulnerable populations. Because time was short, the survey was completed quickly. The fieldwork began 4 January 2006, in harsh terrain and weather conditions. The Council collected information from every individual living in camps that contained ten or more tents. Data were collected on more than 45,000 families and 250,000 individuals. “On the very first day our teams in Azad Jammu and Kashmir could not start their fieldwork because of the heavy rain,” says Mahmood. “The next day, we provided them umbrellas and raincoats, and they went to the field for data collection by walking more than three hours in some cases. Our teams also used helicopters, courtesy of the Pakistan Army, to reach the top of the mountains to collect data. Most of the fieldwork was undertaken in rain and snowfall, and we completed the assignment in 28 days. We presented the results within 45 days.” Findings on vulnerable groups
The results also showed that 1.6 percent of males and 2 percent of females in the camps were disabled by the earthquake. “Severe and multiple injuries” were the most common disabilities reported. The highest proportion of disabilities was found among people in their productive years—between 19 and 59 years old—and among the elderly. Nearly 2 percent of young men and nearly 3 percent of young women reported disabilities. More than 4 percent of elderly women and men were disabled. Just over 1 percent of boys and girls reported disabilities. The researchers concluded that “special measures need to be taken to address the needs of children who may be permanently disabled due to their injuries. Long-term care and rehabilitation will be required, as well as help with the development of skills and training for employment.” Disasters such as this can have a disproportionate negative effect on the elderly. Older people find it harder to access relief goods and shelters and need special attention, as well as physical and emotional support in the relief camps. The vulnerable elderly are primarily affected when they have suffered injuries and disability or when they have lost family support. Out of 11,540 elderly people in camps, 1,564 were without any adult support. Women in the camps face a high risk of sexual exploitation, violence, trafficking, and physical abuse. In the aftermath of the earthquake, women found it harder than men to find employment and to access the relief goods. Widows and members of female-headed households need outside support to help them establish appropriate living arrangements and sources of livelihood within the community. The camp survey registered 768 women as having lost their husbands as a result of the earthquake and 4,620 women as widowed before the earthquake. Female-headed households made up almost 10 percent of households in the camps. The survey also showed that there were 2,778 pregnant women in the camps who needed proper nutritional and antenatal care. Pregnancy and delivery can be dangerous for women in the best of circumstances. Because of the earthquake, however, women are at greater risk since they generally cannot get prenatal or emergency obstetric care. Skilled birth attendants, for example, were present at only one-third of camp deliveries. Further, only 59 percent of the babies born in the camps after the earthquake were vaccinated. Lack of access to appropriate medical care may not be the only cause of poor pregnancy outcomes. Disasters like the earthquake can have indirect consequences as well. During such periods, spontaneous abortions (miscarriages) can increase sharply owing to physical and mental stress, and women who suffer miscarriages require emergency assistance to save their lives and protect their fertility. The survey also assessed the willingness of displaced families to leave the camps and return to their communities. More than one-quarter reported that they were not prepared to go back. Just under a quarter were already residing in camps in their home communities. Less than 3 percent of families said they wanted to go back as soon as possible, 13 percent wanted to go back within two months, and one-quarter said they wanted to go back within four months. Outcomes “Most of the Population Council employees who worked on the survey worked day and night to complete this very important task on a voluntary basis, in spite of their other work commitments,” says Mahmood. “All of them are proud of having contributed to efforts to reduce the dreadful outcomes of the terrible national tragedy.” Source Outside funding See Also
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