Minutes-WASH CLUSTER 7th FLOOD EMERGENCY MEETING KP

WASH CLUSTER 7th FLOOD EMERGENCY MEETING KP


(Minutes of the 64th WASH Cluster Meeting)

Date: 08 September 2010 – 11:30 Hrs

Venue: LG & RDD, KP, PESHAWAR

The 64th meeting of WASH Cluster KP (7th WASH Cluster Flood Emergency meeting) was held on 08-09-2010 at 11:30 am in the LG &RDD, Peshawar. The LG & RDD (Mr. Said Rehman, CWC), PHED (Mr. Shaida Muhammad) and WASH CLUSTER COORDINATOR (Mr. Jamal Shah) jointly chaired the Cluster meeting. WCC welcomed the participants and following agenda items were taken up.

CRITICAL ISSUES:

Mr. Jamal Shah opened the meeting with a brief overview and said that as Cluster we are covering 2 to 2.1 million population but coverage is a vague term; total affected population in KPk is 4.3 million he added.
 He said that the Cluster is mandated to provide safe drinking water to the affected population through water tankering, by rehabilitation of existing water supply systems or distribution of water treatment tablets at house hold level. He continued & explained that by ensuring safe drinking water, sanitation facilities and hygiene promotion our aim is to control the spread of water borne diseases; total cases of AWD in KPk are 11%, but in D.I.Khan AWD is 31% & in Tank 27% which needs special attention while in Nowshera it is 21%. We need support in Tank & D.I.Khan he added. He compared the water supply contamination of Nowshera & Charsadda with that of Swat/ Shangla/ Kohistan and deducted that the infrastructure losses are great in later places but in earlier case the water sources are contaminated completely while in latter case the people are fetching water from far places but it is relatively safe. He concluded that we should prioritize where needs and requirements are high.

TANK AND D.I.KHAN:

WCC said that recognizing the Tank & D.I.Khan as the neediest & underserved areas the forum is open for agencies interested in interventions there.

1. I.R.D representative informed the forum that they are providing services to 5000 flood affected families. He pointed out that contamination of water sources by flood is a big issue but security situation is also a big hurdle for the WASH partners.

2. B.F.O representative informed that they have submitted proposal.

3. UNICEF representative informed that in Tank they are planning for 10,000 house holds in needy union councils and in D.I.Khan providing water to 6000 beneficiaries through TMA and PHED WSS. She also informed that PCRWR is tasked for Chlorination of water sources there.

4. Muslim Aid representative informed that they are planning in D.I.Khan.

5. KADO representative informed that they have submitted proposal.

6. HAMDAM representative informed that they all willing to work in WASH.

Mr. Jamal Shah elaborated the technical aspects of the needs and said that priorities and needs come from Cluster as well as field for example we are consistently provided with 25% to 35% of AWD figures which means that water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion interventions are not up to the mark; water must be chlorinated, soaps, aqua tabs, hygiene kits and pit latrines must be prioritize for the region. He suggested antibacterial soap distribution at mass level.

Annemarie of UNICEF proposed working of two groups one at Peshawar level and other at Tank/ D.I.Khan level; both teams to work closely with W.H.O to map out the villages and BHUs from where the AWD spikes are coming.

KOHAT/ HANGU:

WCC said that though Kohat and Hangu are not red alert areas but both districts are affected by floods and we are getting alerts for AWD from both districts.

Annemarie of UNICEF suggested coordination structure and emphasized for meetings; she was responded that WASH W.G mechanism already exists in Kohat & regular meetings are being (so far 3 meetings) held coordinated by WatSan cell field staff. All WASH partners working in Kohat and Hangu to ensure their attendance in the Kohat meetings.

RETURN OF IDPs (Lower Orakzai):

WCC informed that some 50,000 peoples are planned to leave, and requested the forum for WASH NFIs & support in either at the departure points if not that at places of origin for these returnees.

Annemarie of UNICEF said that hygiene kits will be distributed to these families.

About support inside Orakzai agency the joint chair Mr. Shaida Muhammad pointed out that as the whole situation is not assessed we can not articulate what the needs are.

BFO representative informed that they have assessed one tehsil in Lower Orakzai. They were requested to share their assessment with Mr. Jamal shah.

PESHAWAR VALLEY (PESHAWAR/ CHARSADDA/NOWSHERA):

WCC said that in Charsadda the biggest problem is that of duplication due to the fact that many NGOs are working on ground but not reporting to Cluster; some water supply tankers are not chlorinated which affect/ disturb the whole chain of water supply system. He also said that both in Charsadda & Nowshera WASH Working Groups are activated and government line agencies and NGOs must attend these meetings to discuss day to day matters and resolve their duplication issues at local level.

Annemarie of UNICEF remarked that 3 W matrix reporting is critical for Cluster partners and as philanthropists are also working every where, DCOs may register those water tankers supplied by them as most of them are supplying water from non chlorinated sources. She also informed that for 5 critical districts of Tank/ D.I.Khan/ Charsadda/ Nowshera & Swat an agreement for continuous chlorination has been finalized that might help mapping & AWD spikes origin. She also said that needs are great but lets start some how.

The joint chairs informed that demand for province wide chlorine has placed, to Engro Karachi through UNICEF.

It was informed that from Jalozai & Kandaro-2 no issues were reported.



SWAT/ SHANGLA/ MALAKAND:

It was informed that AWD cases are not much more from the areas hence we can deduct that people are getting safe water; as most of the springs might be damaged so people will be fetching water from far off places was added. As the financial resources are meager we have to spend according to prioritized needs he added.

PIFERP:

It was informed that PIFERP will be finalized today and will be available on OPS by tomorrow; donors will pick projects according to their own priority policy was added.

About ERF (OCHA) & RAPID funding (USAID/OFDA) it was informed that the amount now available in the earlier case is US$ 500,000 and in later case is US $ 300,000.

AoB:

1. Annemarie pointed long holiday weekend due to Eid Ul Fitr 2010 and therefore organization should depute standby contact for emergency response.

2. Technical Working Group could not be held due to the absence of certain members. It will be held next week.

3. Storage of safe drinking water was highlighted.

4. National WASH Cluster will be approached for certain WASH NFIs materials.



NEXT WASH CLUSTER WILL BE HELD AFTER EID ON 15th SEPTEMBER, 2010 (1130 Hrs) IN LG & RDD PESHAWAR.

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