Temporarily displaced persons (TDP) and families relocating back to their areas of origin were affected by a prolonged conflict in the region and weak public service delivery. Infrastructure, resurgence of polio cases and high rates of stunting in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) were also an issue for these people. In order to address all these, the government of Pakistan (GoP) launched FATA TDP ERP and established fifteen One-Stop-Shops. These centers provided benefits to 288,845 returning temporarily displaced families, and 255,835 mothers with children between 0-2 years of age in affected agencies of FATA. 205,000 children below two years were vaccinated. The project also focused on ensuring transparency and efficiency through multi-layered monitoring and biometric verification. As of August 30, 2018.

Challenge

Following continued militancy crisis in FATA, the GoP launched major security operations to root out the pockets of militants. This resulted in significant collateral damage to physical infrastructure and services leading to a large number of Temporarily Displaced Persons (TDPs) losing their homes and livelihoods. Approximately 340,000 families were displaced. As of 2015, Pakistan's writ was restored, and repatriation of displaced persons started. Lack of a formal governance structure coupled with a strong tribal system in place for over 70 years, rendered public service delivery in FATA historically weak with large areas having little or no access to basic services. TDP families that had suffered multiple shocks including major losses to livelihood and income, leading to insufficient food consumption and perverse coping strategies needed immediate support. In addition, outbreaks of polio, malnutrition, stunting and wasting was reported in FATA. Access to basic public services for citizens in FATA continues to remain constraint as security and accessibility issues persist. One-Stop-Shops established under the project has provided a mechanism to fill the gap left by the conflict and weak public service delivery infrastructure.

Approach

The World Bank, through the FATA Temporarily Displaced Persons – Emergency Recovery Project (FATA TDP ERP), assisted the Government of Pakistan to support the early recovery of families affected by the militancy crisis, promote child health, and strengthen social protection delivery systems in affected areas of FATA. An estimated caseload of 340,000 registered temporary displaced families were entitled to benefit under the GoP program providing cash transfers to families that voluntarily return to their region of origin. The International Development Association (IDA) contribution of USD 189 million resulted in the creation of One-Stop-Shops, a unique service delivery model used during previous safety net emergency response projects, which became a platform for provision of selected services to citizens. The Project resulted in the provision of onetime emergency cash grants to TDP families and a temporary subsistence allowance. In addition, a child wellness grant promoted uptake of selected health services focused on immunization and nutrition of children in Pakistan.

Results

FATA TDP ERP provided support to catalyze early recovery of families affected by the militancy crisis, promote child health, and strengthen emergency response safety net delivery systems in affected areas of FATA. The project has helped to support improvements in several key outcomes as of 2015:

Establishment of fifteen One-Stop-Shops designed as a safe facility to deliver selected services to men and women, equipped with connectivity resulting in the installation of ATMs, a banking desk, selected health services for children and systems for identification, verification and delivery of grants to project beneficiaries.

290,000 (80%) of the 360,000 displaced families were provided cash grant support to; a) help them resettle back in FATA; and b) smooth out consumption while they re-establish their livelihoods.

Impact Evaluations show that 63% of the cash support was used for basic needs; 14 % for covering health expenses; and, 10 % on education of children.

The referral system set up under the project referred 31,254 children to the nearest rehabilitation facility.

Bank Group Contribution

IDA credit amounting to USD 189 million supported the government’s program. The total financing requirement was USD 199 million. The original credit amounted to USD 75 million followed by additional financing in the amount of USD 114 million. A DFID funded trust fund provided support for hiring of a third-party monitoring firm for project supervision.

Partners

The project’s steering committee with representation from the Economic Affairs Division, Ministry of Finance, National Database and Registration Authority, FATA Secretariat, TDP Secretariat and the National Bank of Pakistan meets on a quarterly basis. Regular meetings with the United Nations (UN), UK Department for International Development (DFID) and US Agency for International Development (USAID) have been conducted starting at the pre-design phase. The project is discussed at each UN Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) quarterly progress review meeting. The Chinese government contributed USD 10 million for the government’s program.

Moving Forward

Due to the complex constitutional status of FATA, lack of state or institutional presence and continuing security concerns, provision of key public services remain a challenge. It is vital that the government strengthens state citizen relationship and provides basic public services in an efficient and transparent manner. The Government of KP and FATA Secretariat have expressed satisfaction with project and have recommended that the One Stop Shop be converted into Citizen Facilitation Centers to improve availability and demand for key services while strengthening state-citizen relationship.