Pakistan International Peace & Human Rights Organization
Nindo Shaher District Badin Sindh Pakistan

COUNTRY STRATEGY

HUMANTARIAN CONTEXT

Pakistan is one of the most disaster-prone countries in South Asia and is threatened by a variety of natural and man-made disasters. According to the World Disasters Report 2002, some 27,312,592 people (2 per cent of its population) were killed or affected by disasters in Pakistan in the period from 1999-2001. Pakistan is the world�s seventh most populous country, and the fourth in Asia. Currently, the population of Pakistan is estimated at around 145.9 million, with an annual growth rate of 2.16 per cent (doubling time: 33 years). Identifying the problems associated with population increase, Pakistan has more mouths to feed, more families to house, more children to educate and more people looking for gainful employment.

With the worst drought in living memory moving into its fourth year, water availability was rapidly decreasing and creating greater vulnerability among the poor. Sixty per cent of the population does not have access to safe drinking water. The water crisis has had severe implications. The general health of the population is declining, with rising levels of malnutrition due to poor diet on which many people are subsisting. A total of 52 per cent of children under the age of five years were moderately malnourished in 2001 and 13 per cent severely malnourished according to the report from the Government of Pakistan. Social indicators show an average life expectancy of 59.6 years with a mortality rate 83.3 per 1,000. The number of child deaths under five is reported at 110.3 per 1,0004. The high rate of population growth, low life expectancy and high mortality rate put Pakistan at the lower level among the countries in the region.

There is also concern over increasing disease prevalence affecting large populations, in particular the potential for an alarming acceleration of the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country. According to UNAIDS, some 74,000 people are infected with this disease in Pakistan. There are 60,000 sex workers in the country. More than four million people are drug addicts (60,000 injecting drug users). A high rate of needle and syringe sharing and unsafe sexual behaviour are potential dangers for a rapid spread of HIV/AIDS.

Many of the health problems common in Pakistan are preventable and stem from a lack of knowledge. The main causes of preventable deaths in the country are malaria, tuberculosis, childhood infection diseases, micro-nutrient deficiencies, inadequate sanitary conditions and poor nutritional practices. Insufficient financing is making Pakistan�s already precarious public health sector weaker.

Increased political instability limits the country�s ability to attract the foreign investment which is essential for growth and poverty reduction. Since gaining independence from Britain in 1947, Pakistan has come a long way in most of its macro and micro economic indicators, with all sectors registering manifold growth, but an increasing population has swallowed most of these gains and few benefits have trickled down to the masses. Thus the overall socio-economic trends in Pakistan remain a matter of concern, having adverse effects on increasing vulnerability for those with already reduced access to public services.

The ongoing situation in Afghanistan has understandably had a serious impact on Pakistan for more than 20 years and the needs of Afghan refugees in Pakistan also create humanitarian challenges. More than one million Afghans who sought refuge in Pakistan5 have returned to Afghanistan in 2002 under the UN-led repatriation programme, with the hope of a new beginning in Afghanistan. However, large communities of refugees with substantial needs still remain in Pakistan. The most vulnerable are the post 11th September arrivals, living in the camps of Baluchistan�s water-short border regions.