CHITRAL: Aga Khan Agency for Habitat Pakistan (AKAHP) has launched a project to improve disaster response capabilities and increase resilience in vulnerable areas of Chitral.

The initiative has been launched in partnership with Aga Khan Foundation and European Union.

The project is titled ‘improving responses and increasing resilience to disasters in vulnerable areas of Chitral’.

The salient features of the initiative were highlighted during an inception workshop held here the other day.

Representatives of Upper and Lower Chitral administrations, the local community, media and Aga Khan Development Network were in attendance.

On the occasion, the AKAHP regional programme manager said six villages had been selected – two in Lower Chitral and four in Upper Chitral – to strengthen the resilience of local communities against climate-related shocks.

He said the frequent occurrence of natural disasters in these regions coupled with the constrained capacity and resources of existing systems, left rural households particularly vulnerable to climate-related risks.

He said with the support of EU, AKAHP would implement integrated interventions to strengthen government response agencies in disaster risk reduction and disaster preparedness.

He said a key component of the project would be the introduction of a cash disbursement mechanism aimed at enhancing shock-responsive social protection, while the project would also pilot a crisis modifier to enable rapid responses in the event of a crisis, ensuring communities received timely assistance. “Likewise a white paper based on research and an early warning system dashboard to enhance decision making would be developed.”

On the occasion, Lower Chitral deputy commissioner Mohsin Iqbal appreciated the idea of developing the dashboard, which he said would provide insightful data for users. He said his administration would support the development of a disaster management information system so that all organisations working in Chitral could access data from a single platform.

Upper Chitral DC Haseebur Rehman Khalil said his administration would support the teams in project implementation.

Ejaz Karim, AKAHP head of emergency management, said the initiative demonstrated the agency’s commitment towards collaborating with communities and local authorities to build resilience in the vulnerable areas.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2024