FOCUS and partner organisations provided relief and recovery support in health nutrition and education FOCUS is continuing to assist the most vulnerable mountain communities in the province of Badakhshan in north-eastern Afghanistan through cross sectoral relief and recovery support in education, health, nutrition and livelihoods. Badakhshan is one of the most remote and least developed provinces of Afghanistan and has a history of precarious economic situations with decades of food insecurity.
To combat this insecurity, FOCUS distributed, in collaboration with Aga Khan Foundation USA and the United States Department of Agriculture, over 1,000,000 litres of milk to schools in Afghan Badakhshan in 2005 and 2006. In addition, the World Food Programme (WFP) and FOCUS are distributing meals to hospital patients and staff in Badakhshan and Bamiyan.
Schoolchildren receiving their daily carton of milk During 2005 and 2006, FOCUS, UNICEF and the World Health Organisation will provide vital immunisations for 1,600 Afghan mothers and babies. FOCUS also continues to respond to ongoing natural hazard emergencies in Badakhshan, including health epidemics, earthquakes and floods.
As part of its long term repatriation assistance initiative, FOCUS is also providing shelter for Afghan Returnees, Internally Displaced People (IDP) and Vulnerable Families in the province. The objective of the project is to enable 1,500 families, especially those headed by women, elderly and disabled persons, to build seismically re-enforced shelters -- complete with latrines -- adequate to protect them from the harsh climate of Northern Afghanistan.
In 2006, an additional 600 homeless and vulnerable families will benefit from the “Shelter Provision for Vulnerable Families in Badakhshan Province” project.
The project will also enhance local capacity for building shelters and providing sanitation and hygiene training to beneficiaries. FOCUS partnered with Aga Khan Foundation USA and the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (BPRM) for the shelter project 2004/05 in Badakhshan.
Local community members gather in a twenty year old shelter in Nagalanyka - the southern most sub-district situated along the coast located at the tail end of the Krishna River. This area was significantly impacted by the tsunami in 2004. More than 125,000 people died from the tsunami that severely impacted the coasts of South and Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh. In India, the earthquake and the resultant tidal waves along the eastern coastline have caused widespread death and destruction, particularly in the states and union territories of Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Pondicherry, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Reports indicate a death toll of more than 10,000 with immense damage to property and livelihoods. In response to this disaster, between 2006 and 2009 several AKDN agencies and FOCUS will be implementing a programme to enhance the state of disaster resilience and preparedness among coastal communities affected by the tsunami. The programme aims to strengthen the capacities of communities, local self governing councils and district governments to prepare, mitigate, prevent and respond to natural and man-made disasters; reduce vulnerability from health and hygiene risks; establish linkages with key stakeholders and disseminate knowledge and best practices while enhancing gender equality in the programme area.
Focus Global Newsletter - March 2013
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