iMMAP Pakistan, Q4 2012 Progress Report

The primary objective of the project was to strengthen the Information Management capacity of Provincial and Regional Disaster Management Authorities in Pakistan and provide humanitarian responders with effective methods for capturing, reporting, sharing, and analyzing information concerning the humanitarian situation. Implementation focused on developing and supporting tools, including the Single Reporting Format, No Objection Certificate, and OASIS Web, as well as conducting Disaster Risk Reduction training events throughout Pakistan. The project also aimed to enhance collaboration and coordination efforts among Disaster Risk Reduction/Disaster Risk Management stakeholders, including humanitarian partners, public sector organizations, and concerned community members. During the reporting period, July 1, 2012, to September 30, 2012, the project faced significant challenges due to political pressure from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on the Provincial and Regional Disaster Management Authorities to stop using iMMAP resources. The NDMA Chairman expressed concerns about iMMAP being a security threat to Pakistan, despite iMMAP's meetings with other agencies dealing with security in Pakistan indicating that these concerns were unfounded. As a result of the pressure, several Information Management Units were closed, including those in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Gilgit Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh. However, iMMAP continued to develop and support tools, including the Disaster Risk Reduction Portal, which was launched in version 2 during the reporting period. The portal provides a central place for all Disaster Risk Reduction related activities, events, approaches, and best practices to assist in identifying, assessing, and reducing the risks of any disaster. The portal facilitates interaction among Disaster Risk Reduction/Disaster Risk Management stakeholders, including humanitarian partners, public sector organizations, and concerned community members. It encourages Disaster Risk Reduction/Disaster Risk Management focused interaction through forums and discussion groups, archives lessons learned, best practices, and contingency plans, and maintains up-to-date master lists of Disaster Risk Reduction trainers and trainees, and Disaster Risk Management capacity building organizations. The portal has already gained significant traction, with almost 2,000 members and adoption by the Disaster Risk Reduction working group as the preferred way to share Disaster Risk Reduction related information. iMMAP hopes that the portal will become the single most authenticated Disaster Risk Reduction resource in Pakistan for coordinating Disaster Risk Reduction and Disaster Risk Management interventions among all community stakeholders, including public sector organizations.