UN vows to help Balochistan fight drought-like situation

Govt, UN mission agree to launch short-term, mid-term and long-term programmes

QUETTA: A United Nations delegation has assured Chief Minister Jam Kamal of its full support to overcome the drought-like situation across Balochistan and in providing relief to the stricken people.

A delegation of the UN Mission headed by Markus Werna called on Kamal on Wednesday at the CM House.  It comprised officials of the World Food Programme (WFP), Unicef, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

Members of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the National Space Agency of Pakistan (Sparco) also attended the meeting in which the participants discussed ways to reduce effects of drought in Balochistan and immediate relief and assistance for people living in drought-hit areas.

Provincial ministers Zahoor Buledi, Meer Zia Langove, Meer Naseebullah Marri and secretaries of departments concerned were present in the meeting.

The Pakistan Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Balochistan Director General Imran Zarkoon briefed the delegation on drought situation in the province and relief and rescue operations.

During the meeting the UN delegation assured of its full assistance for malnourished women and children in drought affected districts and announced start of a nourishment programme.

The meeting agreed to launch short-term, mid-term and long term programmes in Balochistan that would be completed with the support of UN and its sub-organizations and donor agencies.

"Lack of rains in the last ten years caused drought in Balochistan which has affected agriculture and livestock sector of the already impoverished province. The majority of population living in drought hit areas faces economic woes," Kamal told the delegation. He added the provincial government needs huge funds to provide basic facilities in remote areas of the country's biggest province in terms of landmass.

The government of Balochistan assured full cooperation and complete access to UN organisations and donor agencies for their assessment in drought hit areas. The CM said the provincial government has decided to facilitate the international agencies through one-window operation.

CM Jam Kamal said due to drought, water availability in Balochistan has rapidly reduced. The government has expedited focusing on building new dams for water storage, he added.

"The government of Balochistan has been focusing on climate change and preparing measure to save the province from climate change affects. The government has been making earnest efforts to produce good governance while we have established the Food Security Department,” he added.

NGOs on education and health

A joint delegation of the Baitussalam Welfare Trust and the ChildLife Foundation also met Jam Kamal and shared their efforts for provincial educational development

Directors of both the non-governmental organisations – M Faraz Hassan and Dr Hassan Rabani –told the CM about performance of their organisations in fields of education not only in Pakistan but also for Muslim children across different countries.

Lauding efforts of both the organisations, Kamal said the organisations working in fields of health and educational are doing a sacred job and assured his government's full cooperation to the NGOs.

"The provincial government has commenced various development projects for education and health in Balochistan and people of the province would witness major change in coming years," he said.

The ChildLife Foundation Director Dr Hassan Rabani said his organisation has expertise in health related fields and is working to protect children from major diseases. “The foundation has established emergency centres in various cities of Sindh province,” he told the CM.

The provincial government later announced to get Baitussalam Welfare Trust’s assistance for educational development in Balochistan on public private partnership model.

DCs to submit performance report

The CM also directed all deputy commissioners (DC) to submit a report on their performance since October 2018. The DCs were directed to submit reports on educational projects, Installation of health machinery, Levies stations as well as visits of municipal and Price Control Committees.

The CM directed the officer to submit the performance report to the CM Secretariat