EU support improves community resilience through WFP in Pakistan
Celina Ali
Islamabad: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) this week completed its ‘Enhanced Food and Nutrition Security for Vulnerable People in Flood-affected Areas of Pakistan’ project, funded by the European Commission’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI).
For eighteen months, WFP supported the most vulnerable households in Pakistan’s worst flood-hit districts to facilitate early recovery, rehabilitation, and stabilisation.
The EUR 5 million from the European Union (EU) enabled a transition from emergency relief to early recovery and community stabilisation efforts.
This project used a community-based approach to reduce tensions and promote social cohesion by forming village committees, ensuring fair resource distribution, and improving infrastructure.
It also strengthened livelihoods and resilience by restoring assets like water systems and promoting income-generating activities, leading to lasting stability.
Through this EU-funded project, WFP provided direct assistance to more than 97,000 people and indirect support to 700,000 people across seven vulnerable districts in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh.
More than $3.6m in cash assistance was distributed, enabling participants to access nutritious food in exchange for their involvement in community asset creation and skills development activities.
The EU Ambassador to Pakistan Riina Kionka reaffirmed the EU’s dedication: “Community resilience is at the core of our efforts in Pakistan. The EU is proud to have contributed to building stronger, more resilient communities in the face of adversity by strengthening local capacities and fostering solidarity.”
As part of the project, vulnerable communities benefited from rehabilitation activities that restored physical and natural assets and created infrastructure to protect them from future climate shocks.
This includes the construction of 550 water management structures and rehabilitation or construction of 650 flood protection walls, safeguarding 76,000 acres of habitable/agricultural land and 40,000 houses.
Additionally, the distribution of 1,700 fuel-efficient stoves and 10,000 tree planting will contribute to reducing harmful climate activities and mitigate impacts of future weather events on these vulnerable communities.
This project also delivered over 400 training sessions in marketable skills such as sewing, embroidery, dressmaking, and beautician services, as well as business management, digital marketing.
Women constituted 80% of the participants, whose income increased threefold from Rs5,000 to Rs15,000 (approximately $18 to 54), empowering them economically.
“In the aftermath of large-scale disasters such as the devastating 2022 floods, lifesaving food security assistance combined with recovery and resilience building support is so critical. With EU’s generous support, this project adopted a community-based approach working together towards a more food secure and resilient future,” said Coco Ushiyama, the Country Director and Representative of WFP Pakistan.
Additionally, WFP, in collaboration with Rescue 1122 and Civil Defence experts successfully established and trained 114 Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs).
Equipped with essential rescue tool kits, these teams are better prepared to support local disaster response efforts, bolstering community readiness for future emergencies.
In 2023, Pakistan continued to grapple with the compounding impact of the devastating 2022 floods that affected more than one-third of the country.
WFP played a pivotal role in supporting nearly 4.4m people, following the flood crisis through a variety of complementary interventions to address both critical and immediate humanitarian needs through unconditional cash support to approximately 1.7m people in 2023 and longer-term needs to build resilience, enhance livelihoods opportunities, and address malnutrition.
The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
