PESHAWAR, 4 November 2015 – Three United Nations projects to assist displaced families returning to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) were launched today by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). USAID has provided US$30 million over a two-year period to three United Nations agencies to help rehabilitate communities returning to FATA following the end of military operations.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has received US$ 10 million to restore basic education for 50,000 children, including 15,000 adolescent girls. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has received US$8.3 to restore agricultural and pastoral livelihoods and to sustain nutrition and food security for over 50,000 vulnerable families, while the World Food Programme (WFP) is expanding a programme providing food and cash to over 240,000 families in exchange for a commitment to undergo livelihoods training, especially for households headed by women.

The ceremony was attended by the chief guest, the Governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan, the United Nations Resident Coordinator Neil Buhne, and the USAID Mission Director John Groarke. Attendees included UNDP Pakistan Country Director Marc-André Franche, FAO Representative Patrick T Evans, WFP Representative and Country Director Lola Castro, and USAID Deputy Mission Director Kevin Brownawell. Government representatives and tribal leaders from project areas were also present.

Speaking at the event, Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan expressed his appreciation for the support provided by USAID and the United Nations agencies, and conveyed the Government of Pakistan’s commitment to the FATA Sustainable Return and Rehabilitation Strategy which establishes a framework for returnees, with rehabilitated infrastructure, reactivated local markets, and resilient communities.

The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Pakistan, Neil Buhne, said: “In these complex emergency situations, the United Nations aims to ensure that early recovery is included as part of a humanitarian response, bringing development principles into the relief stage and seizing opportunities to go beyond saving lives and start restoring national capacity, livelihoods and peaceful conditions for development. This means identifying and addressing root causes and vulnerabilities in early recovery interventions to create a foundation for sustainable development.”

FATA has undergone many years of insecurity which has badly damaged infrastructure, education and livelihoods. As families return home, they need help to rebuild their livelihoods and communities. A recent study found that 81 percent of families returning to Bara in Khyber Agency stated that they needed livelihood opportunities, 50 percent needed health and nutrition services, and 38 percent needed education facilities. By helping to provide these, under the government’s FATA Sustainable Return and Rehabilitation Strategy, the United Nations agencies help to create a foundation for rebuilding strong, sustainable and integrated communities.

For more information, contact:

Mahira Afzal, Communications Officer FAO, [email protected] 0346 8544 197;

Zubair Ahmed, Communications Consultant, WFP, [email protected] 0334 5235 406;

Fatimah Inayet, Communications Analyst UNDP, [email protected] 0300 8501893