The European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (ECHO) on Wednesday approved another 12 million Euros to address the emergency nutritional needs of over 340,000 flood affected people in Sindh and Punjab, said a news release.
Implemented by the Pakistan Emergency Food Security Alliance (PEFSA), the programme would aim to improve food security for poor and vulnerable families as well as treat and prevent cases of acute malnutrition. The year long programme will be implemented in Badin, Mirpur Khas, Kashmore, Sanghar, Umerkot, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Tando Muhammad Khan and Rajanpur districts.
PEFSA comprises six organizations, namely Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED), Action Against Hunger (ACF), Care International, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Oxfam, and Save the Children, who are working towards providing innovative solutions to food security and nutrition conditions in emergency and post emergency scenarios in Pakistan.
This is the fourth round of the PEFSA programme since 2010, with a total funding of 57 million euros.
Sharing his remarks,PEFSA Chief of Party Muhammad Adeel Khan said, “The PEFSA partners have worked together to deliver high impact programmes in the flood-hit areas since the 2010 mega floods”. This experience has given PEFSA the confidence to move beyond immediate programme delivery and look at issues of food security and nutrition on a broader strategic level, he added.
In order to combine its rich experience and knowledge, “PEFSA would proactively engage in researching and documenting field experiences to explore food security and livelihood issues broadly”, said Adeel. These research papers would lead to policy papers for advocating various national and international issues, he maintained.
PEFSA would provide livelihood support to poor and vulnerable families through cash grants under the “Cash for Work Schemes” and would also offer backyard poultry farming, goat breeding and kitchen gardening packages, he added.
The cash grants would be the monetary equivalent of a monthly food basket calculated according to the micronutrient and caloric needs of a family. Further, following identification and screening people suffering from acute malnutrition would be referred for further treatment.
Adeel also informed that Save the Children and Action Against Hunger would lead the programme’s nutrition component and would ensure that dietary services were available in all implementation districts by coordinating with the other PEFSA partners.
