ISLAMABAD: Pakistan continues to face funding challenges for disaster risk reduction and disaster response, and the heavily decentralised approach to disaster relief fund is complicating challenges in enhancing disaster relief management, says a new report of the Asian Development Fund.

The report titled ‘Diagnostics Assessment of the Disaster Risk Financing (DRF) in Pakistan’ suggests that an effective disaster relief financing strategy should be developed based on detailed knowledge of the country’s disaster risk.

According to the report, while some district and city-specific multi-hazard vulnerability and risk assessments have been conducted, no comprehensive stochastic assessment of disaster risk is now available for the entire country.

The federal and provincial governments have highly limited ex ante financing instruments in place for post-disaster response. The National Disaster Management Act of 2010 established the National Disaster Management Fund administered by the federal government and separate funds administered by each of the provincial governments.

However, in practice, significant work remains to be accomplished in making the funds operational, adequate provision of financing mechanisms and standardisation of procedures across the provinces. The mechanisms through which disasters are financed vary by province, depending on the administrative system and ready availability of funds.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2019