PAKISTAN - Some of the poorest and most food insecure areas of Pakistan were hardest hit by the October 2005 earthquake, setting development progress back years, if not decades. The State of the World’s Children 2005 report indicated that 38% of under-five children in Pakistan are underweight and 37% suffer from stunted growth.

Almost half a million jobs were lost in agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and construction trade in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) because of the earthquake according to Pakistan’s Ministry of Manpower/Labour. An estimated 70% of the infrastructure in the Mansehra District alone was severely damaged in the earthquake.

Apart from the enormous loss of life, hundreds of thousands of people were also stripped of their livelihoods – “their capabilities and their means of living, including food, income and tangible assets (resources and stores) and intangible assets (claims and access)” as defined by the Institute for Development Studies.

In Mansehra district of NWFP, the earthquake transformed the agricultural landscape, wiping out crops and livestock – the means and way people have lived for centuries.

Recognising the need to restore normalcy and dignity for families in earthquake affected areas, World Vision is employing a sustainable livelihoods approach - prioritising people’s assets, both tangible and intangible and their ability to withstand future shocks such as job loss, the death of a family breadwinner or another natural disaster.
Through an integrated livelihoods programme that addresses not just the needs, but also the capabilities of vulnerable households, World Vision aims to:

• Generate income and create assets through economic development activities that include skills training, cash for work employment schemes and agricultural assistance
  
• Increase food production and availability at the family level, both for home use and for sale
  
• Increase access to food for households who are food insecure, through agricultural and economic development projects and cash- and food-for-work schemes
  
• Promote better food utilisation through activities such as introduction of improved storage technology, improved post-harvest processing, provision of clean water, and promotion of staple cereals and vegetable production and consumption
  

Activities include distribution and on-farm production of improved seeds, fertilizers and tools, livestock restocking & diversification through distribution of buffaloes, goats and other animals, construction of improved animal shelters and irrigation schemes through cash for work, training on improved animal husbandry and veterinary practices, improved health and nutrition techniques and off-farm-related vocational training.