The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is preparing a flood relief package to assist Pakistan, stricken by devastating floods. The ADB in a communique said that the bank will participate in funding for relief work in flood affected areas of the country. The bank will provide support to poor people, ailing women and children suffered ravages of flooding. The ADB will provide help to farmers who suffered losses of crops and extend assistance in cultivation of crops so as they could stand on their feet, according to the statement.

The lender will also provide funds for rebuilding of roads, bridges and other infrastructure destroyed in flood. It will also extend support for reconstruction of damaged houses, schools, hospitals and other amenity buildings. The ADB in its recent report had placed Pakistan among high-risk countries prone to be affected by natural calamities, adding that the country every year suffered losses of US$2 billion from natural disasters.

The report shared by the ADB highlighted that floods have brought more destruction than earthquakes in Pakistan and every year natural calamities claim on an average 863 lives in the country. The natural calamities have increased poverty in the country after floods destroy harvest, homes and other infrastructure. “There is only a limited insurance of harvest in Pakistan and only 272,000 farmers have got their harvest insured,” it reported. It highlighted that floods further devastate underprivileged districts, increasing poverty level in those areas.

The report shared that most of the people below poverty line lives in Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The report suggested adopting and extending disaster risk management approach to evade damages from the floods and earthquakes. The measures taken in Pakistan to deal with floods and earthquakes are non-satisfactory, it said.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP