USAID voucher programme makes difference in quake-affected north

A United States Agency for International Development (USAID) voucher distribution programme has begun to improve life for villagers in the quake-ravaged Bagh district of Pakistani-administered Kashmir. The USAID-sponsored voucher scheme being implemented by international humanitarian agency GOAL was started in the last week of January, under which US $100-vouchers have been distributed to 10,000 families in the area. The vouchers enable families to purchase items of their choice to supplement shelter kits containing corrugated iron and plastic sheeting. “The voucher programme has been well received by local merchants who have seen their revenue stream increase while helping their neighbours recover and rebuild,” Andrew Parkes, an official from GOAL, said from Bagh on Monday. Pakistan sustained the heaviest death toll and destruction in its 58-year history after the 8 October earthquake last year, which devastated an extended area of about 28,000 sq km in parts of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Pakistani-administered Kashmir. More than 80,000 people were killed and over 100,000 were injured, while nearly 4 million people were rendered homeless just weeks before the start of the bitter Himalayan winter. Four months on, with the improvement in weather conditions, the relief efforts are shifting their focus towards an early recovery and rehabilitation phase to contribute to long-term sustainability and self-reliance in the earthquake-affected region. The USAID-sponsored voucher system provides survivors flexibility to address their own needs while stimulating the local economy. Families are able to use their vouchers to purchase goods from nearly 174 local merchants participating in the voucher programme. "[The] recipients have to spend the vouchers here in the local economy. Otherwise the local shops close down for lack of business and these people leave. So it’s a cycle,” Parkes explained. Similarly, shopkeepers have signed contracts vowing to adhere to a code of ethics to participate in the Bagh voucher distribution programme. “Participating shops are monitored to ensure that store owners do not raise prices unnecessarily for customers paying with vouchers,” he added. Washington has pledged a total of $510 million in relief and reconstruction assistance across the earthquake-affected areas in northern Pakistan. The relief funds cover humanitarian supplies and ongoing military operations ferrying in supplies and evacuating victims in need of urgent medical care.