Inadequate relief

Even though the government relief agencies swung into action soon after Wednesday's devastating earthquake in the mountainous districts of Balochistan, many residents of the affected areas spent at least two consecutive nights out in the open.
It was hardly surprising, therefore, that the Ziarat district health officer told the media that hundreds of children were being treated at the district hospital for pneumonia, diarrhoea and other chest and abdominal diseases. There were many others who received no medical attention at all, and suffered from the vagaries of sub-zero weather and lack of shelter, clean water and food.
UNICEF said on Friday that over 70,000 people, including 30,000 children, have been rendered homeless by the quake. Others have warned of the spread of deadly diseases, which underlines the need for expediting relief operations. UNICEF has offered help; so have several other UN agencies as well as NGOs. Some of their aid goods arrived immediately, but the bulk was to come later.
These agencies actually tend to take time to prepare damage assessment reports before dispatching and distributing relief goods. In situations like the present one, time is of essence. The affected people, especially those who have no option but to live in the open, cannot wait while the government looks towards international agencies for urgently needed supplies like tents, drinking water and warm clothing.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) established in the aftermath of the massive earthquake that hit north-western Pakistan and Azad Kashmir three years ago, should be able to mount efficient and effective rescue and relief operations on its own. Considering the number of people who went without any sort of help in the first two days, its response to the present disaster has been less than satisfactory.
Interestingly, a lot of the work NDMA should have been doing has been taken over by radical groups such as Jamaat-ud-Dawaa, which is alleged to have links with extremists/militants. Much to the unease of some Western observers, the group's volunteers appeared on the scene soon after the quake hit to help people in the remote villages with food, blankets and tents. They also brought in medicines and medical teams under the banner of Al Khidmat" to cater to the needs of the affected people.
Dawaa critics accuse its activists of trying to use the situation to build political support base for themselves. Whatever the motives of this and similar other groups that are providing succour to the calamity-stricken people, reports say those benefiting from these groups are grateful to them. Some people are quoted as saying these volunteers stepped in to fill the void created by the government failure to do the needful.
The ability of the Dawaa volunteers to reach out to the quake victims at a fairly wide level, makes one wonder why the government agencies having access to vast logistic resources could not provide urgent relief to the families television cameras repeatedly showed struggling to stay alive shelterless in the freezing cold of mountainous Balochistan.