ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is scaling up recovery and resilience-building support in order to respond to the acute needs of people affected by the 2022 floods. With the support of the Japanese government and collaboration of Islamic Relief Pakistan, UNDP’s new intervention will support more than 15,000 people in Sindh.
“Millions of people in need are left behind and receiving little support. There is a renewed and strong call for scaled-up, much-needed support to the communities affected by the floods, and UNDP reaffirms its commitment to working to promote longer-term resilience building and transformational change,” a press release by the organisation said on Wednesday.
The floods impacted 33 million people, caused over 1,700 casualties, displaced over 8m people, and pushed a further 9m into extreme poverty.
While there have been joint efforts made by the government and international community to provide assistance to the affected communities, it is clear that much more needs to be done.
WFP will follow ‘sustainable practices’ to strengthen community’s resilience for future ‘shocks’
UNDP Manager for the Floods Recovery Programme, Hisashi Izumi while announcing the new project, said that the project will serve as a scalable intervention aimed at providing support to the most vulnerable populations, particularly women and adolescent girls, through interventions uniquely tailored to respond to the challenges facing them.
‘Focused’ support
Addressing the needs of flood-affected people, UNDP held a handover event in Dadu and Larkana districts on Wednesday to distribute essential aid and toolkits to bring about life-changing impact and help the communities build back better.
UNDP distributed 2,000 solar panels for renewable energy solutions, as well as 2,000 water filters for ensuring access to clean water, essential for community well-being, promoting public health, and preventing waterborne diseases. Thousands of agricultural toolkits were also distributed to support affected households with the necessary equipment for agricultural, reconstruction, and recovery efforts.
In the meantime, the World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nation (UN) says it has successfully concluded its flood response, reaching 4m people and demonstrating effective leadership that delivered results in emergency assistance, nutrition support, resilience building and augmented logistical support.
Moving forward, WFP says it will adopt a strategic shift and targeted approach in providing focused and integrated support to flood-affected communities, especially in severely impacted districts of Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh.
“WFP will continue to scale up its support to the stunting prevention safety net Benazir Nashonuma Programme and sustainable food systems to strengthen community resilience to future shocks,” the press release said.
Major ongoing and new risks associated with Pakistan’s turbulent economic, political, and security landscape continue to influence WFP’s operations. In the face of these uncertainties, WFP prioritised risk mitigation procedures to safeguard programme integrity while ensuring the safety of staff, partners, and beneficiaries.
WFP received $150m, or 67 per cent of the required US$225 to support its emergency flood response.
While significant progress has been made, numerous gaps persist, with particular emphasis on the ongoing challenges related to food security and nutrition needs that demand immediate attention. The revised Flood Response Plan released in mid-December 2023 indicated that food shortages have impacted more people towards the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, potentially pushing more children into hunger and malnutrition.
In addition, over 2.1m children, assessed by the recent integrated food security phase classification Acute Malnutrition Analysis (AMN) live in 32 flooded districts that are affected by acute malnutrition and urgently need treatment.
Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2024
