Overview
It was a turbulent year for Pakistan on both the political and security fronts. Demonstrations and bombings throughout the year led to President Musharraf declaring a state of emergency in November 2007.
Cyclone Yemyin hit the south of the country in June, bringing with it devastating floods which left hundreds dead and hundreds of thousands homeless. Against this chaotic background, Concern Worldwide continued to work in three provinces, focusing on livelihoods, healthcare, and emergency preparedness and response.
Dealing with Cyclone Yemyin
In the aftermath of the cyclone, we distributed food and non-food items to almost 25,000 people. We also rebuilt 400 traditional shelters, rehabilitated irrigation structures, tube wells and hand pumps and distributed seed.
To ensure communities are better prepared for future disasters, we built flood protection structures and raised homesteads.
Health, wellbeing and fewer burdens
65,613 people benefited from improved water and sanitation facilities, including pumps, water supply schemes, distribution systems and household latrines. These have not only had a significant impact on people’s health and wellbeing, but have also lessened the burden on women, who no longer have to transport water over long distances.
Mother and infant care
Training and equipping community members as traditional birth attendants has improved care for women and infants while providing much-needed income. In Balochistan alone, we estimate this will mean 3,000 to 5,000 safer births over the coming years.
More achievements in Pakistan:
- Our livelihoods programme helped train 202,589 people in a range of vocational skills
- We provided disaster risk and recovery training for 300 people from 26 villages
