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	International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour by International Labour Organization   Children in hazardous work - End child labour!   The ILO’s most recent global estimate is that 115 million children are involved in hazardous work. This is work that by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm children’s health, safety or morals.   Children working in many different industries and occupations can be exposed to such risks and the problem is global, affecting industrialised as well as developing countries.   Hazardous work is among the worst forms of child labour which the international community has targeted for elimination by 2016.   The need for urgent action in order to reach this target was both the theme of The Hague Global Child Labour Conference in 2010 which adopted a Roadmap for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, and has been endorsed in the ILO’s Global Action Plan.   The 2011 World Day Against Child Labour provides a global spotlight on hazardous child labour, and call for urgent action to tackle the problem. On this World Day we call for new urgency in identifying and tackling hazardous child labour, as an important means to make progress on the global goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labour.   Recognising that hazardous work is part of the larger child labour problem, scaling up global, national and local level efforts against all forms of child labour through education, social protection and strategies to promote decent and productive work for youth and adults.   Amid growing concerns over the impact of the economic downturn, the International Labour Office (ILO) has warned that efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour are slowing down and called for a “re-energized” global campaign to end the practice.   In its Global Report on child labour in 2010, the ILO said that the global number of child labourers was 215 million.   The report expressed concern that the global economic crisis could “further brake” progress toward the goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016.   The ILO global report, revealed child labour increased among boys (by 8 million or 7 per cent). What’s more, child labour among young people aged 15 to 17 increased by 20 per cent, from 52 million to 62 million. Visit the related web page
	One year on, Pakistan’s flood survivors need continued support by FAO, ECHO & agencies   The floods that struck Pakistan starting in July 2010 represented one of the most devastating natural disasters of our times, submerging almost one-fifth of the country - an area the size of Greece - killing 2000 people, affecting 20 million and destroying 1.6 million homes.   Damage to agriculture - the basic livelihood for 80 percent of the affected population - was estimated at more than $5.1 billion, including the loss of over two million hectares of crops. The devastated area included the breadbasket province of Punjab and much of Pakistan"s most fertile land.   The disaster struck at a crucial point in the agricultural calendar-- just before the harvest of spring-planted crops and within weeks of the critical winter wheat planting season. Livestock surviving the floodwaters lacked feed, veterinary support and shelter. With existing and future sources of food and income washed away, humanitarian aides raced against time to prevent a domino effect.   Floods Response Programme   A year later, those efforts have proven successful. Today, thanks to FAO interventions under the international Floods Response Programme some 900 000 smallholder households - more than seven million people - are back on their feet again.   FAO"s efforts focussed as a matter of priority on winter planting of wheat and vegetables and on spring planting of maize and rice as well as vegetables. Support was provided to preserve vital livestock resources and on-farm irrigation systems were repaired.   Almost half a million households were provided with wheat and vegetable crop packages. They yielded 650 000 tonnes of wheat - twice as much as traditional seeds and enough to feed more than four million people for at least six months. In addition, the average family sold almost a third of their harvest, generating $116 of much needed cash income. From the onset of the floods, more than 200 organizations joined efforts through the Agriculture Cluster, led by FAO, to respond to immediate and critical challenges with the support of the donor community.   Other interventions included assistance to women to grow fresh, nutritious food in their own kitchen vegetable gardens. FAO provided individual families with vegetable kits, each of which yielded an average 500 kg of vegetables.   This bridged the gap before the wheat harvest in late spring and surplus production sold on the local market providing valuable income which families used to meet other basic needs.   Livestock support   Over 290 000 families received support from FAO for their livestock - an area in which women play a crucial role. This helped to keep over one million animals alive and healthy during the 2010/2011 winter until green fodder became available.   Urgent support still needed to restore rural livelihoods. Despite the above successes, much remains to be done to restore rural livelihoods and to significantly reduce vulnerability, improve food production and income generation, and increase the resilience of rural communities to future shocks.   July 2011   One year on Pakistani flood. (ECHO Regional Information Office, South Asia).   A year after Pakistan’s worst floods in memory, people are still picking up the pieces of their lives, trying to rebuild their homes, incomes, assets and livestock – for many the journey is a long one as recurrent floods erode their efforts.   The European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) says “there are still many ongoing humanitarian needs and areas are being flooded again”.   David Sevcik, ECHO’s Head of Office in Islamabad says “while we have been able to help many, there are many who are only just receiving assistance and people we have not been able to reach.”   Janomai has lived in Nari Shomali, in DG Khan District’s Taunsa area, all her life. Ever since she was a child, Janomai remembers floods, but none as big as last year’s.   “Every year the water comes; children, youngsters and the able-bodied run away. It is the old and infirm who remain tortured by the heat and fear. What else can be done?” laments Janomai, adding: “We have not emerged from last year’s flood.”   This year’s monsoon is early; already land is flooded. “Before the floods in 2010, we used to sit there,” said Bilal Hussein, a labourer from Morjanghi village in Taunsa, pointing to a large area with submerged trees. “It was a dry place, there was no water. Now the flood has come, the water here is standing. The water will come even higher; it will come up to the wall (his shoulder height).”   For Sajid Hamzewallah and his family, it was difficult to decide whether to plant anything this season, because last year’s devastating floods took their rice and sugar cane crops, their home and their livestock.   The 20-year-old had never experienced floods in his village in the Kotadu area in Muzaffargarh, southern Punjab, before the massive deluge last year. An elder of the village, Hameed Hussein, explains that the last floods they saw in this area were well over two decades ago.   “The fields were covered in sand and silt; we had to clean up the area and with help from international organisations, we are now able to plant rice,” said Sajid as he scattered rice seedlings across the paddy.   “We feel very helpless; even now all this work could get swept away any day, but we live in hope.”   As tenant farmers, Sajid and his family received some help from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with tents and materials to rebuild their homes. They lost cattle and goats that were swept away with the flood waters. “We still had to pay the landowner for renting his field,” adds Sajid. “As a tenant family, we lost over 300,000 Pakistani rupees (€2,400) in goods and income in that flood.”   “This year we are idle. We have not planted anything – it is going to be a tough season for us without our crops and no income,” said Bashir Ahmed, a farmer in Morjanghi. In Taunsa area, most farmers have not planted rice, cotton or sugar cane this season, for fear of loss.   “Last year, the NGOs gave us a chance to work, and gave us cash to clean our village and build protective banks. With this we were able to eat and rebuild our lives,” added Bashir.   At their height the 2010 covered roughly a fifth of the country. Around 2,000 people died and 20 million were affected.   “The humanitarian spotlight must be kept on Pakistan because independent and impartial aid delivery will help those in need whose resilience has been depleted and must not be tested further,” added ECHO’s Sevcik.   July 2011   Many older people"s basic needs remain unmet. (HelpAge International)   It is one year since the devastating flooding in Pakistan which affected 20 million people. Even now though, the country is struggling to recover and the monsoon season is fast approaching.   Although relief efforts are ongoing, they still haven"t reached many remote villages. Noor Ul Hadi, 55 from Nowshera, is the president of his older people"s association, which HelpAge set up to support older people after the floods.   He says: "After the floods, our lives were miserable. People were homeless and with such huge damage to our livelihoods, people became helpless. NGOs have provided support, financial assistance and rehabilitation activities.   "But the process of reconstruction is very slow. Many people"s basic needs haven"t been met. People are suffering, health and nutrition are the biggest concerns."   Malnutrition is also a major issue in Sindh and Punjab provinces which are poorer than many other areas.   "As the floods disrupted the harvest process and destroyed crops, food prices have increased tremendously. This means that families need to buy food on credit or take out informal loans at high interest rates", says Zeeshan Alvi, Advocacy and Communications officer at HelpAge in Pakistan.
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