(Extract)
Afghanistan
The deterioration of the security situation and the consequences of extensive military operations, aggravated by years of drought and recurrent small scale disasters, have caused a sharp increase in humanitarian needs. In 2010 the first priority will be to support the refugees returning to Afghanistan from Pakistan and Iran and people affected by displacement internally. The aim will be to meet beneficiaries' needs for shelter, food, water, sanitation and hygiene education, with protection and DRR as cross-cutting priorities.
As emergency health needs have re-emerged, DG ECHO will re-engage in this sector, especially in remote areas, focusing in particular on acute malnutrition and outbreaks of disease. DG ECHO will intensify its efforts to implement a coherent LRRD approach involving local communities. Support for humanitarian coordination and advocacy efforts will continue, as well as for security coordination and humanitarian flights to facilitate access to remote locations.
Pakistan
The Commission will support humanitarian interventions in response to large population displacements in the North West Frontier Province and federally administered Tribal Areas, targeting IDPs, people returning to their areas of origin, host families and other conflict-affected populations. Protection of civilians, security of humanitarian workers, access to beneficiaries and respect for humanitarian space are major concerns in this context. DG ECHO will focus its interventions on basic humanitarian needs such as protection, food assistance, basic healthcare and water and sanitation. Basic livelihood support will be considered if the security environment permits. DG ECHO will also liaise with relevant stakeholders and advocate the integration of humanitarian considerations into reconstruction policies and programmes.
Bangladesh
The Commission will support 33,500 unregistered Rohingya refugees in two unofficial camps, providing a minimum level of humanitarian assistance, with the emphasis on protection. Discussions are ongoing with key stakeholders to find a lasting response to the situation. DG ECHO will also give food assistance to disadvantaged indigenous hill tribes who are suffering from acute household food insecurity as a result of plagues of rodents. Shelter and means of subsistence will be offered to the most affected victims of the May 2009 Cyclone Aila, who are still marooned on embankments. A coordinated LRRD approach for the post-emergency situation is under discussion with other development actors.
India
The Commission will fund humanitarian operations in support of the victims of the Kashmir conflict and of the Naxalite rebellion. Protection, psycho-social support and medical assistance remain highly relevant, and in Chhattisgarh there are increased needs for protection. Opportunities for LRRD in this context will depend on access, which itself is linked to the intensity of the conflict.
Nepal
In its current fragile post-conflict situation, Nepal's problems need to be addressed through a development approach rather than a humanitarian approach. Therefore, DG ECHO's humanitarian aid will be gradually phased out, although with a continuing emphasis on protection, basic health, water and sanitation. LRRD will be facilitated by the resumption of development cooperation, including the Commission's Food Facility. DG ECHO will continue to finance food aid for the 90,000 Bhutanese refugees living in camps, whilst encouraging a comprehensive solution for them. This strategy is likely to be revised according to the situation and new humanitarian needs that may arise along the year.
Sri Lanka
Since the Government's military victory over the Tamil Tigers in May 2009, the main focus of DG ECHO has been to provide protection and emergency life-saving assistance to over 280,000 people, mainly ethnic Tamils, held in detention camps in the north. These people are totally reliant on humanitarian assistance, but the attitude of the Government has resulted in a shrinking of the humanitarian space and created an ongoing dilemma for agencies, who must try to balance humanitarian imperatives and principles. DG ECHO will not contribute to any new funding in support of the detention camps, but it will contribute to the return process, provided that conditions are right and basic humanitarian principles are met. DG ECHO will provide assistance - mainly water and sanitation - to the 70,000 Sri Lankan refugees in camps in Tamil Nadu, India.
Burma/Myanmar – Thailand
DG ECHO will provide humanitarian assistance for vulnerable populations affected by the low-intensity conflict in Burma/Myanmar, focusing on the ethnic minorities living in the eastern border areas and on the stateless Rohingya population in northern Rakhine State. Key sectors of assistance will continue to be protection, food aid, nutrition, primary healthcare and water and sanitation. In the run-up to the parliamentary elections scheduled for 2010, heightened tensions can be expected between the Government and various ethnic groups, especially their armed factions.
In the camps in Thailand, more than 51,000 Burmese refugees have been resettled since the start of the resettlement process in 2006, most of them to the United States. However, this has not resulted in any substantial reduction in the number of people in the camps. In 2010, DG ECHO will support food aid and primary healthcare activities in the camps, but will continue its strategy of scaling down the level of financial support and playing a pro-active role in encouraging enhanced donor coordination and defining lasting solutions with the Royal Thai Government.
Philippines
With no clear end to the conflict between the Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in sight, some 350,000 people have now been displaced for over a year. They receive few basic services, are increasingly dependent on external aid and have largely exhausted their coping capacities. DG ECHO will support life-saving activities and protection in a difficult environment, plagued by insecurity, and will advocate the preservation of humanitarian access.
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