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FROM THE FIELD

Defense Against Disaster, Medair in Afghanistan
24 Jul 2009 16:12:00 GMT
 Source: Medair - Switzerland
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Medair's Disaster Risk Reduction team is helping the most vulnerable villages in Afghanistan's Badakhshan province protect themselves in the event of natural disasters. "The biggest challenge is the roads," says Kaihan Majeed, Construction Engineer and Senior Coordinator on Medair's Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) team. In a de-briefing session, the nationally recruited staff on the DRR team are sharing their observations and experiences from a month-long expedition through the mountains of Badakshan, where they assessed the vulnerability of villages to frequent natural disasters. "In these most remote areas, the roads are not open all the time," Kaihan continues. "We had to walk from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. to reach one village because of the mud and snow."

A Hazardous Landscape Badakshan, home to an estimated one million people, is one of the highest risk provinces in Afghanistan in terms of earthquakes, flooding, and landslides. These annually occurring natural disasters are responsible for damage and destruction of homes, farms, and infrastructure such as bridges, roads, and irrigation canals.

Many villages are located along steep slopes with little vegetation, which increases the risk of landslides during the rainy season, especially combined with the frequency of seismic tremors and seasonal flash flooding. Remote villages are completely cut off in terms of road access and communication, leading to delays and limited emergency response operations when natural disasters do occur.

Recent flooding in this area from exceptionally heavy rains and the spring thaw destroyed hundreds of homes. Livestock and farmland were hit hard, as were food stores. Medair's emergency responders are currently working to distribute emergency supplies and help re-build shelters. This recent disaster only highlights the importance of the DRR team's work-to help prepare people living in isolated villages for natural disasters before they happen.

Tough Choices The first phase of Medair's DRR response was to conduct a large survey of the area, identifying the villages most in need of assistance. "The best thing for me is the encouragement we bring to the people," says Laila Wahidi, Community Mobiliser. "When we are conducting a survey in one village, people from other villages come and ask us to go to their village too. Reaching people in such unreachable places brings them a lot of hope."

The staff on the DRR team received specific training from Medair and also from other specialists in this area of work. "In the last month the team has visited 75 villages," says Abdul Osmani, the project manager. "Now they have come back to the base, we will look at their findings, and we will make a judgment of the most vulnerable communities who are also willing to work with us to benefit from this assistance."

Building Resilience Once the selection process is settled, the DRR team will return to the field. "The way it works is that the village establishes a Disaster Risk Sub-Committee," explains Kaihan Majeed. "Medair staff will train people for two or three days in disaster preparedness and risk reduction. We'll then hire them to coordinate the activities."

"One person will be look-out and learn how to raise an alarm," continues Kaihan. "Another will monitor progress, and a third will find safe places for the community to go to in an emergency. The trained people will also train other families in the village. It will be their own responsibility to implement these actions and to monitor the progress they are making."

By encouraging a planned, community-wide preparedness for natural disasters, Medair is truly working in partnership with our beneficiaries, helping to develop innovative, low-cost solutions that use the community's own local resources and capacities.

"I am most excited because this is the first time that Medair has implemented this type of project," says Kaihan. "It is so important to increase the awareness of the villagers. Up to now, they have not known ways to cope with natural disasters. Now they will."

Medair brings life-saving relief and rehabilitation in disasters, conflict areas, and other crises by working alongside the most vulnerable. Its internationally recruited staff are motivated by their Christian faith to care for people in need, providing practical and compassionate support, regardless of race, religion, or politics. Founded in 1989, Medair has an unwavering commitment to bring hope to the world's most vulnerable.

In Afghanistan, Medair provides essential health care (in six permanent clinics and over 40 health posts), as well as water and sanitation to the people of Wardak province, and in the Ragh, Yawan, and Kohistan districts in Badakhshan province.

Medair's Disaster Risk Reduction Programme in Afghanistan is supported with the assistance of TEAR Fund New Zealand. Other activities in health services, water and sanitation, food security, and construction are supported by USAID/WHO/MOPH, UNFPA, DG-ECHO, MCC/CFGB, Hirzel Foundation, and EO-Metterdaad.


[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

Background information

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Last updated:Fri Jul 24 16:15:43 2009