Project for the Restoration of Earthquake-affected Communities and Households

The earthquake of 8 October 2005 had a huge impact on the whole country. It severely affected five districts in the North-West Frontier province and three in AJK, spreading destruction over a total area of 25,000 km2. Some 80,000 people were killed and large numbers were injured. Homes, infrastructure and livelihoods were damaged or destroyed. In the zone hit by the earthquake most households depend on agriculture, and the loss of livestock – more than 50 per cent in the worstaffected areas – has left them extremely vulnerable. These mountain regions were poor and marginalized even before the earthquake struck, and poverty has now become severe and widespread. After the loss of family members, homes and animals, most households have been left extremely vulnerable.

The project responds to the urgent need to follow up emergency relief operations with interventions providing rural communities with the means to re-establish productive lives by restoring housing, livestock, water and other basic infrastructure. IFAD’s knowledge of the area, acquired through ongoing operations, has been an important source of information, and the organization has provided logistical support to post-earthquake restoration efforts in general. The project is being implemented in about 100 small, remote villages in the upper valleys, and it especially targets the poorest and most vulnerable people, including households headed by single women.

The overall goal of the project is to enable rural households to rebuild livelihoods. It restores lost assets, giving priority to rebuilding housing and replacing livestock – buffalo, cows, sheep or goats – and to rebuilding community infrastructure such as drinking water systems, roads, bridges and irrigation schemes. The project operates in selected villages where community organizations have been established to facilitate implementation. It encourages villagers to design specific restoration plans for their villages, for which the project provides support accordingly.

Source: IFAD