How ID can be key to receiving Pakistan flood aid
A woman holding her ID card at a Pakistan flood camp
Among the many things people have lost in the Pakistan floods are little bits of paper – birth certificates, ID cards and sometimes, passports.
In times of an emergency, like the one being played out here in Pakistan right now, proof of identity can be very important – even the difference between eating and not.
Plan staff witnessed women and children being pushed out of the way during food distributions in camps. Those who possessed ID and could register at the camp, received aid, those who didn’t went hungry.
Turned away
Staff talked to a family living in a makeshift tent by the road. The grandma said they were really desperate for food and water, so they went to the camp but were turned away.
“They asked for my name. I couldn’t put my name there. No name. No card. We’re back here on the road,” she said.
Similar scenes were witnessed by the BBC’s correspondent Jill McGivering in a relief camp in Sukkur, Sindh Province.
Returning home
Lacking ID may not mean you always miss out on aid handouts but it could cause longer-term problems as Pakistan tries to recover from the floods.
Having a birth certificate and a legal identity means you can also prove who you are and what you own, in case anyone tries to lay claim to what remains of your property when you return home.
Although it also gives easier access to health and education services, birth registration has never been high on the agenda in Pakistan.
1.6 million registered by Plan
In the last few years, Plan has been raising awareness of the issue and begun the registration of children in certain parts of the country. To date, we have registered over 1,600,000 people in the provinces of Balochistan, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, and Sindh.
A birth certificate will also help children who have been separated from their parents. If there was a central database that stores detailed family information, we would be able to trace parents and extended family members.
Trafficking protection
History has shown us that natural disasters also invite unscrupulous people looking to traffick vulnerable or separated children. A birth certificate proves the real identity of a child’s parent or guardian.
The mass internal displacement in Pakistan has proved to be a logistical challenge for aid agencies. Accurate figures on populations helps focus emergency aid efforts accordingly. So far Plan and other organisations have registered nearly 50,000 people in 156 camps.
Read more about Plan’s emergency response and support the Pakistan appeal.
Learn about Plan’s Universal Birth Registration campaign.
