Final evaluation of Aid to Uprooted People of Pakistan (AUP) programme

Aid to Uprooted People in Pakistan (AUP) was an EU-financed programme implemented from 1 Jan 2017 to 23 Mar 2024 in five merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa—Khyber, Kurram, Orakzai, North Waziristan and South Waziristan—supporting the return and reintegration of displaced people from erstwhile FATA. It combined two components: 

1. a GIZ-led supply-side strand to improve government service delivery and support reforms by strengthening planning, budgeting, sector management and information systems in health, education and governance
2. a community-driven local development strand (KfW–SRSP, later SRSP) focused on social mobilisation, community institutions, community physical infrastructure and skills for vulnerable households

The evaluation finds strong relevance and alignment with EU priorities and government plans, and good coherence with other donor initiatives. Output delivery is reported as substantial in both components, but implementation was repeatedly disrupted by the FATA–KP merger, COVID-19, security constraints and delays/refusals of NOCs. Monitoring and the evaluation itself were constrained by limited field access, affecting verification of some results. Sustainability is mixed: institutionalised improvements in government systems and some community O&M practices are likely to continue, while livelihoods gains and community institutions face post-project risks, exacerbbated by the lack of a formal exit strategy.