Pakistan

Background

Not in recorded history of Pakistan did floods of such devastation as those of July and August 2010 sweep through Pakistan. The destruction resulted in loss of lives, homes, and livelihoods to millions of Pakistanis in all four provinces of the country. Homes were washed away critical community infrastructure destroyed, agricultural lands laid waste, basic public and communal services disrupted, and systems collapsed.

As people returned to their villages and towns to pick up pieces of their lives, what they found was drastically insufficient to meet even their most basic needs and vulnerable segments like, women, children,. Elderly and the physically challenges were at high risk.

UNDP, mandated by the United Nations Inter Agency Standing Committee, as the global lead agency and provider of last resort for Early Recovery, is working closely with partner UN Agencies, Government departments, and humanitarian organizations for a well coordinated and effective early recovery response.

Objectives

UNDP has launched a comprehensive one year programme in support of early recovery and for the restoration of flood affected communities in many areas of Pakistan. In partnership with National, Provincial and district Disaster management Authorities, local government institutions, communities and the private sector, this programme seeks to restore safe and enabling environments for flood affectees in the worst hit districts and to help them recover from the affects of floods through:

• Building capacities of local institutions and flood affected communities for recovery and restoring the protection of rights
  
• Restoring and stabilizing livelihoods of vulnerable flood affected people 
  
•  Restoring basic and critical community infrastructure and services

Towards this end UNDP will apply an area-based, multi sector and integrated approach in the affected districts in order to build the capabilities of the local authorities, civil society, and private sector to lead the recovery process. This applies the basic approaches of:

• Community based and participatory approach
• Area based integrated approach
• Vulnerability based approach
•  Bridging the gap between relief and development

Key Achievements

• Over 4,000 people benefitted from one-stop shops offering free legal advice for recovery of identity papers and other legal documents – including many women enabled to get legal documents for the first time in their lives.
• Help with legal documentation provided to: 3,000 people in Muzaffargarh, 850 people in DI Khan;
• Community organizations formed
• 8,202 acres of degraded land rehabilitated, directly benefiting 7,662 farmers;
• Over 7,000 packages of wheat and barley seed, and fertilizer distributed to far
  mers;
  
• Cash-for-work schemes enabled ten thousands of farmers to earn wages by rebuilding damaged roadways;
  
• Over 1,000 women earned US$ 176 for 50 days’ work, clearing debris from public buildings, fields and private residences – many are using this income to set up small businesses.
  
• Agricultural inputs provided in KPK
• Cash grants for enterprise development
• Vocational training provided
  
• Numerous community restoration projects completed
• 171 projects rebuilding community infrastructure – including irrigation channels, footpaths and link roads – successfully completed
• Waste management and water supply facilities built benefitting 70,000 people