Talks with development partners, NDMA & PDMAs: Efforts underway for mobilising aid to rehabilitate rain-hit infrastructure

ISLAMABAD: The government on Monday held a meeting with development partners and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMAs) for mobilizing assistance for relief, rehabilitation and restoration of damaged infrastructure caused by flash floods and heavy rainfall.

Mian Asad Hayaud Din, Federal Secretary for Economic Affairs, chaired the meeting with selected development partners and NDMA and PDMAs to review the need assessment for immediate relief and to mobilise assistance for relief, rehabilitation and restoration of damages caused by flash floods across the country.

On the directions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif given on 30th July 2022, the Ministry of Economic Affairs was directed to immediately approach the UN agencies and international development partners for immediate assistance and funding for relief, rehabilitation and restoration of infrastructure in view of the large-scale losses caused by flash floods and heavy rains in all the provinces.

On the prime minister’s directions, the Federal Secretary for Economic Affairs Division further directed additional and joint secretaries of the ministry to approach all the development partners (multilateral and bilateral), including the UN agencies, to seek both financial and humanitarian assistance for relief, rehabilitation and restoration of damaged infrastructure.

The meeting was organized for respective heads and representatives of the NDMA, National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF), and the six PDMAs to engage with foreign development partners to present their needs-assessment reports and to formalize an action plan of assistance.

During the meeting, a detailed presentation was given by a representative of NDMA on the damages caused by flash floods across the country including details of infrastructure, crops, life-loss along with the present status of resources and immediate relief programmes that are being implemented in each province.

Furthermore, all the PDMAs were asked to present their specific requirements for both the immediate relief phase and rehabilitation and restoration of damaged infrastructure caused by flash floods.

The foreign development partners stated that they stood firmly with Pakistan in that disastrous situation and were ready to provide whatever assistance was required to all the provinces. The Secretary thanked and assured the development partners to fill the gaps through Ministry’s intervention.

The secretary EAD further stressed the need to officially declare emergency in the affected districts of the provinces and directed the NDMA to submit the need assessment reports of both NDMA and PDMAs to the foreign development partners so that they formalize and implement an action plan for the assistance.

The meeting was attended by both NDMA and PDMAs, NDRMF, Irrigation Department, Government of Punjab, and Development Partners including; USAID Pakistan, UN-OCHA, IOM, Embassy of Denmark, Asian Development Bank (ADB), United Nations (UN), World Bank (WB), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Embassy of China, TIKA, KFW, Embassy of Japan, Humanitarian Office EU delegation, and Embassy of Germany. Representatives from the Ministry of Economic Affairs including; Federal Secretary for Economic Affairs, additional secretaries, joint secretaries and senior officers of the ministry also attended the meeting.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022