European Commission uplift funds: 12m euros granted for security, nutrition

The year-long programme will work to facilitate flood victims in Punjab, Sindh.

To address emergency food security and nutrition needs of over 340,000 flood-affected people, The European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) department has approved an amount of €12 million.

Implemented by the Pakistan Emergency Food Security Alliance (PEFSA), the programme aims to improve food security for poor and vulnerable families as well as treat and prevent cases of acute malnutrition, said a press release issued on Wednesday. The year-long programme will be implemented in Badin, Mirpur Khas, Kashmore, Sanghar, Umerkot, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Tando Muhammad Khan and Rajanpur districts.

PEFSA consists of six organisations working towards improving food security and nutrition conditions in emergency and post emergency scenarios in Pakistan, namely ACTED, ACF, Care International, IRC, Oxfam and Save the Children. This alliance strives to provide innovative solutions to the emergency food insecurity and malnutrition issues that intensify in the aftermath of any humanitarian disaster. This is the fourth round of the PEFSA programme since 2010 with total funding of €57 million over this period.



On the occasion, PEFSA Chief of Party Muhammad Adeel Khan said, “PEFSA partners have worked together to deliver high impact programmes in the flood-hit areas since the 2010 mega floods. This experience has given PEFSA partners the confidence to move beyond immediate programme delivery and look at issues of food security and nutrition on a broader strategic level.”

“PEFSA will proactively engage in carrying out research to document field experiences of the various programmes in addition to exploring food security and livelihood issues broadly,” said Adeel. These research papers will then form a basis for policy papers that will be used to advocate various issues at national as well as international level.



PEFSA partners will provide livelihoods support to poor and vulnerable families through cash grants received as part of “cash for work schemes” and will also support them with packages of backyard poultry farming, goat breeding and kitchen gardening. The cash grants will constitute the monetary equivalent of a monthly food basket calculated as per micronutrient and caloric needs of a family. Based on careful and precise targeting, it is expected that a large proportion of the cash assistance will be spent on food items.

In addition, PEFSA will provide nutritional services to children and pregnant women facing malnutrition. Following identification and screening, people suffering from acute malnutrition will be referred for further treatment. Save the Children and ACF will lead on the nutrition component of the programme and will ensure that nutrition services are available in all implementation districts through coordination with PEFSA partners, the nutrition cluster, working groups and steering committees.

PEFSA partners work in coordination with national authorities at district, provincial and federal levels to capitalize on technical know-how and ensure sustainability. This coordination with local authorities encourages them to adopt good practices and supports the capacity of their staff to continue activities beyond the project period.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 30^th, 2013.