©UNDP Pakistan/Satomi Kato

The economic and social damage caused by disasters in Pakistan presents an enormous challenge to attaining the Millennium Development Goals. From a development perspective, increasing the resilience of people and communities is not optional, but mandatory.

Early Recovery

Crisis Prevention and Recovery
Early Recovery

According to recent estimates, 1.7 million Afghan refugees possessing Proof of Registration cards live in Pakistan, as well as about another 1 million unregistered refugees. Concentrated in areas along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, many refugees have been resident in Pakistan since 1979.

Prompted by the long-term presence of such large numbers of refugees, UNDP works to alleviate the social, economic and environmental consequences for both refugees and hosting communities in Pakistan.

UNDP works in KP, FATAand Balochistan to improve national and provincial abilities todevelop crisis sensitive programming, restore local communities and enhance social cohesion in crisis affected communities through demand driven peace building interventions.

The project restores and improves the ability of communities to recover from future natural or man-made disasters. UNDP has provided recovery assistance through cash for work programmes, and restored community infrastructure to provide access to basic social services.

Objectives

  • Ensure peaceful coexistence between Afghan refugees and their host communities by promoting socio-economic development and environmental rehabilitation of the areas adversely impacted by the presence of refugees.
  • Vulnerable populations in crisis affected areas of KP and FATA will benefit from improved prevention and risk reduction. They will also be assisted to reach their development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals.
  • Rebuild basic community infrastructure to improve communities’ access to services and facilities including education, health services and local markets.

Expected results

Main achievements

  • More than two-thirds of the village organizations have prepared Village Development Plans to address access to basic services such as health, education, water and sanitation, while strengthening networking and linkages with Government departments.
  • The project provided training in project cycle management, participatory monitoring and evaluation, conflict resolution, communication, disaster risk reduction to government officials that will enable them to work more efficiently and effectively.
  • The programme expanded rural income generating opportunities by providing market-based skills training to 1,936 individuals in KP, 1,305 in Balochistan and 700 in FATA.
  • Market based skills training has generated community assets and improved incomes by creating more options and diversifying income sources. An estimated 50 percent of these trainees are now reportedly involved in income generating activities. This is expected to significantly contribute to reducing poverty levels.
  • Using seed funding, 108 basic infrastructure schemes were successfully rehabilitated in South Waziristan agency, FATA.
  • In Swat, 585 basic infrastructure schemes are being rehabilitated, benefitting more than 180,000 people, 207 of which were completed with financial assistance from the Saudi Fund for Development.
  • The rehabilitation of community infrastructure in South Waziristan Agency, FATA benefitted more than 160,000 people in South Waziristan and provides livelihood opportunities througha Cash-for-Work (CFW) programme and improved access to basic services for displaced populations.
  • Economic opportunities have been created in the area through the use of local construction material such as coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, steel, marble strips and local labour.

What's next?

  • The project will expand in FATA.
  • The programme will undertake a detailed conflict analysis to identify and address the main drivers of conflict in KP and FATA. Recovery interventions will adopt a conflict sensitive approach in line with the recommendations of the Post Crisis Needs Assessment (PCNA) and the Government's long-term development strategy.
  • UNDP will continue to work with its partners to improve social cohesion in the region and to reduce the communities’ vulnerability to future disasters.

Where we work

© Asela Bandara/UNDP Pakistan

UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in more than 170 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.