Effectiveness of disaster preparedness in Tajikistan

Dear Friend of    AKDN

Wednesday, June 27^th 2007, a mud slide occurred in the remote village of Oqmamad, Shugnan District, Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan.

A mud channel installed by FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance was able to hold the mud flow and direct it away from houses and households. There are no reported casualties.

This mud flow channel was installed in 2003 through phase 1 of a Disaster Preparedness project, funded by Disaster Preparedness European Commission Humanitarian Aid ( DIPECHO) supported by Aga Khan Foundation (United Kingdom) (AKF(UK)).

The affected community also benefited from a radio communication system (installed by FOCUS with DIPECHO support). This communication system enabled villagers to contact the Ministry of Emergency Situations within a matter of minutes of the mud flow, giving the isolated village immediate access to external assistance.

Without disaster preparedness interventions, this event could have been a serious disaster. A landslide/mud flow in the region in 2004 entirely destroyed Dasht village with 24 people killed and 521 people left homeless.

To date, the partnership between FOCUS, AKF(UK) and DIPECHO has implemented disaster preparedness interventions in over 200 isolated villages in Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan. The partnership is now in its 4^th phase, extending its coverage to more vulnerable mountain communities in Tajikistan. The latest phase also introduces Disaster Preparedness to communities in Badakhshan, Afghanistan through a cross-border pilot project, laying the groundwork for a full Disaster Preparedness Programme in Afghanistan expected later this year.

For further details on the work of FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance, please visit:   http://www.akdn.org/focus/index.html

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