January 17, 2006	Tuesday	Zilhaj 16, 1426

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 16: Survivors of the October 8 devastating earthquake are still facing dangers and difficulties 100 days after Pakistan’s worst natural disaster, warns Oxfam International in a report on Monday.

Conditions for survivors in the official camps remain difficult, especially with the onset of the harsh Himalayan winter, while inhabitants in many spontaneous camps are finding that even their most basic needs are not being met.

“It’s 100 days since the earthquake struck and we’re still in full lifesaving mode as this crisis shows no sign of abating. We’ve been very lucky that the heavy snowfalls have only just struck and the challenge now is to reach vulnerable people before it’s too late,” says Oxfam’s Pakistan Country Director Farhana Faruqi Stocker. The difficult Himalayan terrain and rudimentary infrastructure have presented local authorities and relief agencies literally with a mountain to climb, with scores of villages entirely inaccessible by road.

Many existing roads were damaged during the quake and some have been frequently blocked by landslides caused by subsequent tremors and rainfall, or by heavy snow.

The UN’s relief operation has been hampered by a lack of pledges to the UN’s earthquake appeal fund. Barely half of the funds appealed for, $300 million of the $549 million required, have materialized to date.

“The international community must support the Pakistani authorities and the UN to improve coordination and management of the relief effort,” said Ms Stocker. “Internationally agreed minimum standards for camp management must at least be reached and the transition from military to civilian responsibility must proceed carefully and sensitively,” she added.

People in smaller spontaneous camps have missed out on aid provisions owing to confusion over responsibility for food distribution as well as other urgently needed items. The worsening weather has brought new dangers. Most tents rushed to the earthquake zone in the aftermath of the tragedy were unsuitable for winter conditions. Like many other NGOs, Oxfam has been busy winterizing the tents it provided as well as providing materials to build shelters. But Oxfam’s warnings of a possible second humanitarian disaster still apply to the most vulnerable, children and the elderly, trying to take shelter in flimsy tents in remote areas above the snowline where access to aid deliveries has been difficult.