Post-flood picture is not so pretty

Many say that Pakistan is a country of resilient people; and many also acknowledge that its citizens stubbornly refuse to learn from their mistakes. Well, that stands quite true, especially when it comes to reeling back from the effects of natural disasters and calamities.
According to a report by the Oxfam - a global NGO working against poverty - six months after the floods, the suffering from the flood disaster continues, particularly in the south of the country. Malnutrition has reached chronic levels; theres a paucity of adequate shelter for those affected, and many have still not been able to go back home.
Yet the government has decided to cease emergency relief operations in the country, which is considered only a first step in rehabilitation after a disaster. If the basic step is being withdrawn, it necessitates more strategic and long-term solutions by the government, to enhance the capacity of both the people and the authorities in tackling with similar crises in future.
Idrees Mehsood, Director Recovery and Rehabilitation, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said, "Every relief effort and initiative has to take its own course and has a time line. The reason for ceasing emergency relief operations is to avoid a dependency syndrome in the recovering population. Following this, an early recovery phase of relief efforts will begin, which will be a notch above the provision of basic aid."
Even though the plans are seemingly laudable, the sustainability of these efforts and ensuring a build-up of resilience against disasters in the future is a key challenge.
According to the Fritz Institute - a US-based non-profit organization that works for rapid and effective disaster response and recovery - a year after the earthquake of 2005, 60 percent of the people were still displaced, while more suffered from problems due to income disruption.
To avoid a similar fate after the disastrous floods of 2010, the key to bringing in sustainability in post-disaster development is to effectively deal with inequality.
This holds for cases of gender inequality, where women are often denied access to relief goods and services because of cultural predispositions. In addition, many affected families resort to the ill-fated practice of paid wedlock and forced prostitution to squeeze additional income in the face of shrinking means of earnings at home.
Further, a great opportunity for land distribution comes up post-floods, particularly for the landless tenant farmers who have been traditionally dependent on repressive landlords for their living. Giving them access to property of their own will be a self-sustaining effort in ensuring a sustainable recovery for those affected.
Needless to say, slashing the spending on Public Sector Development Programmes (PSDP) is not a feasible solution to garner funds for rehabilitation. Rather, it would be better to prioritise services such as education and health in order to create viable employment opportunities for the affected.
Besides these essential efforts for restoration of the affected families, it is also important to have a proactive approach and develop sound disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies, involving the civilians and those affected.
The preliminary Damage and Needs Assessment of the World Bank and Asian Development Bank promotes a model of flood-resistant hybrid house, for which, financial assistance needs to be provided. Besides this, proper maintenance of embankments, restricting agricultural and residential expansion in flood-prone areas, and effective early-warning systems are a few of the areas that should be paid heed to.
Holistically, the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts need to involve tremendous coordination between the people, the government, NGOs and international bodies, and also make it a smooth and transparent process.
However, if the third stage of relief services,
econstruction and rehabilitation, has been allotted to the Planning Commission rather than the NDMA, one can help but be concerned about the prospects of recovery after the floods.