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Pakistan Annual Country Report 2022 - Country Strategic Plan 2018 - 2022

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Overview

In 2022, the final year of its Country Strategic Plan (CSP) 2018-2022, WFP provided relief, recovery, and development assistance to 4.7 million people in Pakistan. This was more than five times the initial target and four times the number reached in 2021. Over the life of the five-year CSP, WFP reached 7.7 million people.

2022 saw unprecedented levels of monsoon rains that triggered widespread flooding. This caused substantial casualties and infrastructure damage, affecting more than 33 million people. Of those that WFP reached in 2022, 3.1 million people were flood survivors, who were experiencing "emergency" levels of food insecurity (Integrated Phase Classification, IPC Phase 4), requiring immediate assistance.

The Country Strategic Plan was premised on a progressive WFP transition from direct in-kind food and cash support to the provision of technical assistance to strengthen the capacities of national institutions, continuing a process initiated during the 2018 - 2022 CSP. Areas of focus include emergency preparedness, disaster management, nutrition, social protection, and food systems, while enabling grassroots communities to adapt to climate change, build resilience and improve their livelihoods.

While that shift was impacted in 2022 due to significant humanitarian needs from the floods, the climate hazards (heat wave in March and floods in June-October) underscored the imperative to accelerate the transition. A CSP for 2023-2027, endorsed in November by WFP’s Executive Board, duly affirmed the commitment of the Government, donors, and stakeholders to doing so.

Notable achievements during the CSP that ended in December 2022 include the integration of WFP interventions into the national social protection system; and a successful push for significant expansion of a key national stunting prevention social protection programme, the Benazir Nashonuma Programme.

During the year, WFP also provided livelihood support to food-insecure communities in Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces. This intervention was linked to the crisis in Afghanistan and the concern that this would trigger an influx of refugees. The large-scale cross-border movement did not occur, but there is a recognition of the need to strengthen and support already vulnerable communities in Pakistan impacted by the instability. These responses aimed to stabilize the food security of impoverished communities impacted by multiple hazards and shocks, while simultaneously building their resilience to cope with future stresses and provide employment opportunities (linked to the triple nexus). This was particularly pertinent to the intervention areas in KP and Balochistan provinces, which are impacted by the humanitarian crisis in neighbouring Afghanistan.

In 2022, WFP stepped up its involvement in the formulation and management of safety net initiatives. For example, WFP played a key role in the elaboration of shock-responsive support to flood-affected women and children through the provision of specialized nutritious foods, fortified wheat-flour, and cash grants, along with advice on healthy diets.

Nonetheless, the flooding - which caused an estimated USD 30 billion in damage and losses, particularly in the food, livestock, and fisheries sectors - drove WFP to also focus on crisis response in the second half of 2022. This was reinforced by growing evidence of a surge in already high rates of acute malnutrition. The focus on the crisis response was also demonstrated through the provision of over USD 100 million from donors in 2022.

This meant that there was less external funding for mitigating actions such as the building of community resilience or strengthening national capacities to improve emergency preparedness, disaster management, and food security. National and provincial authorities were also focused on the flood response and reconstruction.

Other challenges exacerbated by the flooding included rapid food price inflation; limited non-governmental organization partner capacity; supply chain disruptions, which resulted in food commodity shortages and delayed distributions; and diminished overland access to inundated communities.

Moving forward, WFP will continue to reinforce the Government’s efforts to enhance food and nutrition security for the people of Pakistan, by reaffirming its role as the Government’s partner of choice to build resilience and address root causes.