The Government of Pakistan estimated that around 3 million people have been affected by drought in eight districts of Sindh Province. Majority of the affected communities are dependent on agriculture and livestock. Scarcity of water has severely affected their livelihood conditions. This has placed the local population under great strain, exhausting their coping capacities and resilience.
The needs assessment, conducted in 69 out of 513 revenue villages, by National Disaster Consortium (NDC) from Oct 2018 – Jan 2019, confirms that 71% of the surveyed households are moderately or severely food insecure, whereas 32% are severely food insecure. They also reported that 67% of the respondents spends 65% of total household expenditures on acquiring food, one of the main reason for contracting debt. The report confirms that food is top priority of the drought affected communities that has compelled them to adopt negative coping mechanisms. Direct food assistance is proposed to increased food security.
ACT members Community World Service Asia (CWSA) and Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) plan to support 78,000 most vulnerable persons addressing food security and livelihood for two years, and with a budget of USD1,826,156.
