Acted has been present and registered in Pakistan since 1995, with active presence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Sindh and Punjab provinces. Acted Pakistan has been responding to emergencies caused by conflicts and natural disasters, notably focusing on food security and livelihood opportunities, while supporting their recovery and investing the development sectors.
Despite its standing as one of Asia’s most resilient economies, Pakistan continues to face a wide range of both human-induced disasters and natural challenges. Sitting among the 32 countries most sensitive to the impacts of climate change, the country experiences recurring floods and earthquakes, and suffers some of the world’s worst food insecurity and chronic malnutrition. The recurrence of severe droughts also blights agricultural production and contributes to wider population displacement. In addition to these factors, some of Pakistan’s poorest regions along the Afghan border continue to be subject to conflict between the military and insurgents. The situation of the thousands of Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan continues to be a topic of major political and humanitarian concern.
Acted focuses its assistance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh provinces, targeting disaster-affected populations with immediate and early recovery assistance in the sectors of shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene, and cash assistance.
Learning from disasters to strengthen community resilience
In Pakistan, Acted’s actions seek to boost community resilience both to the immediate impacts of natural disasters (such as through hygiene awareness trainings), in addition to making sustainable contributions in terms of long-term resilience, which includes vocational training and education.
Acted seeks to build the resilience of local communities and authorities by providing them with trainings on community disaster risk management, climate-smart agriculture, and infrastructure building/rehabilitation. As a result, the target communities take steps to identify recurring risks and adapt local development practices in order to mitigate against their impacts. In addition, Acted engineers oversee the integration of ‘Build Back Better’ techniques into the construction and rehabilitation of basic infrastructure and housing.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh provinces, Acted also reaches thousands of families through hygiene awareness sessions, particularly crucial for maintaining health standards in areas hosting displaced communities. Over the last year, our action has successfully halted open defecation practices in 33 villages, banishing a key contributor to high rates of waterborne disease.