Program Details: Pakistan

Photo: Kim Johnson/Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps Pakistan ensures a strengthened civil society in which target populations are capable of identifying and addressing community needs.

Mercy Corps works in Pakistan to build sustainable livelihoods, good governance and secure, productive and just communities. Programs focus on improving health, water access and livelihoods for resident and Afghan refugee populations.

Mercy Corps' assistance to Pakistan dates back to the mid-1980s. The agency now operates programs in Baluchistan Province reaching 320,000 people, in addition to continuing assistance to survivors of the 2005 Pakistan Earthquake.

Programs in Focus

Emergency Assistance to Rebuild Healthy Communities in Konch and Siran Valleys
Mercy Corps is providing vulnerable earthquake-affected communities critical standardized primary health care services, improving preventive health practices, assisting with recovery and rehabilitation of water systems and construction of pit latrines, and using cash-for-work programs to clear rubble and construct emergency shelters.

Critical Primary Health Care Support for Mansehra District of North West Frontier Province
Following the destruction of health facilities during the October 2005 earthquake, Mercy Corps established two tented Civil Hospitals in the Konch and Siran Valleys. Through these facilities, Mercy Corps is providing vulnerable earthquake-affected communities with critical primary health care services, supported by ambulance services providing triage and transportation to appropriate health facilities. Community mobilization and education is being used to improve care-seeking practices and preventive health behaviors.

Earthquake Emergency Relief Program for Pakistan
Through cash-for-work, Mercy Corps provided materials for debris clearance and material recovery for construction of temporary family survival shelters for earthquake survivors who lost their homes.

Earthquake Emergency Relief
This program funded the purchase and distribution of 6,000 stoves and 25,000 blankets for 6,000 families who were made homeless by the October earthquake.

Strengthening Capacities for Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in Vulnerable Communities
The main objective of the project is to increase awareness and disaster response capacities in ten vulnerable rural communities. Through this project, Mercy Corps will form and strengthen community councils in the target communities and provide disaster preparedness education. Communities will receive support in developing disaster preparedness plans and early warning systems and in implementing small-scale mitigation measures.

Increasing Tuberculosis Case Detection and Treatment
Through this program, 60 Diagnostic Centers in government district hospitals and primary health care facilities will be strengthened in tuberculosis (TB) case detection and treatment. Case detection and treatment compliance will be increased through public-civic sector partnerships, which strengthen services and use innovative, effective community education and mobilization approaches to increase treatment among remote rural populations.

Integration of the Balochistan Refugee Assistance Program
Mercy Corps is improving the quality of primary health care services in the government's health facilities, strengthening community outreach and preventive health behaviours, and increasing access to potable water through the rehabilitation of existing water systems in target Afghan settlements and host communities. Additionally, refugees are being provided with vocational training and relevant tool kits to facilitate successful integration into communities.

Community Mobilization for Improved Maternal and Newborn Health in Balochistan
Mercy Corps is a collaborating partner in this project to improve maternal and newborn health in Pakistan. Mercy Corps is carrying out community mobilization activities, which focus on improving the government and private sectors' capacity to provide quality services to mothers and newborns. Community awareness and mobilization activities will lead to an increase in recognition of danger signs, birth preparedness and care seeking in rural communities.

Legal Aid and Vocational Training for Afghan Refugees and Support to Hosting Communities in Pakistan
Mercy Corps is the lead agency for providing legal aid and vocational training for Afghan refugees, as well as support to host communities. Mercy Corps is increasing the economic viability of Afghan refugee households through vocational training, basic business development skills and employment advisory services, as well as enhancing the readiness of Afghan families for repatriation and strengthening their ability to peacefully reside with their hosting communities in the interim. Mercy Corps is using a community-based approach to identify, prioritize and implement small-scale mitigation interventions to address critical natural resource needs.

Support to Afghan Refugees in Pakistan
This project, which ended in January 2006, aimed to increase the economic viability of 20,000 Afghan refugee households by training primary workers in household vocational skills, marketing and food conservation and household budgeting. Health education sessions and social activities were also provided to equip Afghan refugees for success upon return to Afghanistan - a place that today is very different than the home they left up to 25 years ago. The program utilized community mobilization to enable participants to prioritize skills building and to foster a sense of community and social support around return.

Emergency Assistance for Water and Sanitation Activities
This project is being implemented in earthquake-affected areas and is targeting populations currently living in temporary camps and settlements. Program activities are focused in the water and sanitation sector, including water supply systems, testing of water quality, construction of latrines and solid waste disposal.