The World Bank’s Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) and the Country Partnership Strategy Progress Report are directly linked to Pakistan’s own development vision. The Bank’s long-term commitment to education, energy and its support for rural infrastructure, and its engagement in policy dialogues is helping Pakistan achieve its development objectives.

In 2011, severe flooding affected millions of people in Sindh, Pakistan. Many lost their homes and livelihoods and have struggled to find the means to rebuild their lives. ACTED launched a shelter and food security assistance to support affected communities by providing shelters, kitchen gardening kits and tree plants to help them start to rebuild their lives.

Overcoming physical disabilities to help communities thrive

At Action Against Hunger, we help people who face extreme hardships every day to survive. Many lack access to basic necessities like food and water; others are struggling to rebuild after a disaster. On top of these difficulties, some people we serve also have physical limitations that make their situations even more challenging. But our work with these extraordinary people proves that disability does not mean inability, and that everyone can contribute in their own way to community development.

Villages in the area of Khori

by Hannah Janvarious/DWA

When disasters shake a country and its inhabitants, what remains is often a large number of people in need of help. Yet this totality of people is made up of the fates of individuals and their families whose lives have undergone an abrupt and dramatic change.

By decision taken by Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala on 15 March, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has granted its humanitarian assistance funds for the first part of the year, totalling EUR 39.8 million, to people suffering from the world’s crises. This time, Finland targets humanitarian assistance to Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Earlier this year, EUR 3.5 million was already granted for the acute needs of the Syrian crisis.

Today is International Women’s Day—a day to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of women around the world. Here at Action Against Hunger, we meet so many women worth celebrating. In times of disaster and conflict, women and girls can be particularly vulnerable groups, but we serve countless women who show extraordinary resilience, dedication, and bravery in the face of adversity. In honor of International Women’s Day, today we are highlighting recent stories about women in Pakistan who found unique ways to use their skills to help rebuild their villages.

GLIDE n° FL-2010-000141-PAK

Period covered by this Ops Update: 1 September to 30 November 2012.

Appeal target (current): CHF 92.6 Million;

Appeal coverage: 99%;

Appeal history:

• Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF): CHF 250,000 was allocated on 30 July 2010 to support the National Society’s response to the emergency.

• A preliminary emergency appeal was launched on 2 August 2010 for CHF 17,008,050 for nine months to assist 175,000 beneficiaries.

Everything they had was washed away; but RedR training means that next time floods come to Sindh, they won’t lose their homes.

Premi and her family live in Rojhi Kholi, a small village of 50 families in Pakistan’s Sindh Province. The Sindh is typically hot and dry, and when rain falls twice a year, it is just enough to irrigate the crops. Premi and her husband work are cotton farmers like most of the others in their village. Each month they earn just £19. Making ends meet is a real struggle, but they usually have enough to eat, because the land is fertile.

Release of the 2011-12 Annual Review of Aid Effectiveness

The inaugural Annual Review of Aid Effectiveness was released today by Foreign Minister Bob Carr. This new and important document is part of a suite of reforms flowing from the 2011 Independent Review of Aid Effectiveness. Its purpose is to inform Cabinet discussion of the four-year budget strategy outlined in the Comprehensive Aid Policy Framework and report on the aid program’s performance against the Framework.