World Bank supports temporarily displaced persons in Pakistan

The World Bank approved $114 million on Thursday to significantly extend support for families affected by militant-related violence, improve child healthcare and establish systems for emergency response safety net delivery in the affected areas of Federally Administered Regions (FATA) in Pakistan.

The WB approved a $ 75 million credit for the original FATA Temporarily Displaced Persons (TDP) Emergency recovery project in August 2015. Beneficiaries of the project are the families from five FATA Agencies, namely North & South Waziristan, Orakzai, Kurram and Khyber. The additional financing will help expand the support to 326,000 eligible temporarily displaced families, up from 120,000 under the original project. It will raise the number of participating families with children under the original project, The new financing will also expand the child health services to all 15 One Stop Shop in these FATA agencies. The One Stop Shops reduce travel time and costs for parents by providing all related services at one point.  

“Displace people in fragile or conflict situations need livelihood support when they leave their home, and upon their return as well”, said Illango Patchamuthu, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan. “The additional new financing will ensure that the returning families have the means to start their lives anew.”

The Early Recovery Project which is at the center of the project, consists mainly of two cash grants: (i) a one-time Early Recovery Grant of Rs. 35,000 per family; and (ii) a Livelihood Support Grant of Rs. 16,000 per family in four monthly installments of Rs. 4,000. These two cash grants provide complementary incomes to help the displaced families cover the initial expenses needed to restart their lives and revive their livelihoods upon voluntary return to their region of origin. The Child Wellness Grant offered to both TDP and non-TDP families is provided in three equal installments of Rs. 2,500 each, conditional on families attending periodic health awareness sessions on nutrition, hygiene and immunization.

“Despite many constraints including the security challenges in FATA, successful implementation of the project has presented an opportunity to significantly increase the number of people benefiting from the project”, said Amjad Zafar Khan, World Bank Task Team Leader of the Project. “The project’s emphasis on service delivery and inclusion will go a long way in restoring FATA citizen’s confidence in government systems.”

The credit is financed by the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank Group’s Fund of the poor, with a maturity of 25 years, including a grace period of 5 years.