Staff Reporter
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) Wednesday launched a livelihood project aimed at providing sustainable livelihood opportunities for both Afghan refugees and Pakistani communities.
The livelihood project is estimated to be worth Rs 320 million and, in addition to the 3,000 Pakistani households benefiting from PPAF’s regular livelihood programme, this new project will help a further 3,000 households. It will be mainly implemented in Mansehra and Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Chaghi, Balochistan.
Under the project, the most vulnerable households will be provided with intensive coaching in the area of agriculture and entrepreneurship, various packages, including livestock, to support such initiatives, as well as access to financial services. The UNHCR project is complementing government’s flagship programme – Ehsaas and benefitting the people targeted by the government for poverty alleviation and their economic development.
Speaking on the occasion, UNHCR Representative in Pakistan, Ms. Ruvendrini Menikdiwela, said that such projects will have a significant impact in the lives of the vulnerable people living in extreme poverty. She said this initiative will help lift the Afghan refugee population and members of the host community out of poverty and provide them with sustainable livelihoods.
