Pakistan gained independence in 1947 when India was partitioned.

Recent economic and political instability has hit Pakistan’s poor the hardest, with fighting, inflation (largely due to rising world prices) and the arrival of millions of Afghan refugees putting pressure of resources. Natural disasters, such as the South Asia earthquake and flooding, have killed thousands and displaced millions.

Two-thirds of Pakistan’s population lives in rural areas, where poverty is almost 40 per cent.

ActionAid in Pakistan
ActionAid began operating in Pakistan in 1992 and now works with 60,000 of the country’s poorest people, particularly small, landless farmers, women and urban poor people.

We work mainly in food security, education and women's rights, as well as supporting people in conflict and emergency situations.

Helping displaced people
In May 2009, violence broke out between government and Taliban forces in the northwest of the country.

2.3 million people were forced to flee the fighting, and sought temporary relief in mobile camps. ActionAid Pakistan provided food and hygiene kits to almost 5,000 families, as well as distributing medicine and school supplies. We particularly supported women and children.

In the following months, ActionAid Pakistan helped people to return to their homes by providing seed to thousands of farmers, as well as safe water supplies and health sessions.

In the wake of the devastating October 2005 earthquake, ActionAid Pakistan created an Emergency and Reconstruction Project to coordinate the ongoing relief efforts.

HungerFREE
ActionAid’s HungerFREE campaign was launched in Pakistan in 2007, where agriculture accounts for roughly a quarter of the economy and employs nearly half the workforce. 

We promote sustainable agriculture, justice in food distribution and just laws for international trade. We also work to improve women’s access to land and defend the rights of fisherfolk who are being pushed into poverty by over-fishing from trawlers.