KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday told the International Rescue Committee (IRC) that the unprecedented monsoon rains and flash floods had pushed five million people below the poverty line with over 4.3 million additional ones facing the threat of food insecurity in the province.
In a meeting with IRC chief executive officer (CEO) David Miliband through video link, he said that as per the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment Report, the province had been at the receiving end of about 61 per cent of the total damages and 75 per cent of the total losses due to the floods. The adverse impact of climate change had disrupted every conceivable facet of life in the province, he added.
The IRC agreed to work with the provincial government in post-flood relief activities, climate change-related plans and to help in the health sector, particularly against malnutrition.
Mr Shah said the devastating impact of floods had ‘undone’ a significant chunk of public sector investments in the province as it permeated all sectors. He added that 24 out of the 30 districts had been declared ‘calamity-hit where the floods had affected more than 12.4 million people, with more than 1,000 lives lost as well as over two million housing units impacted and over 450,000 livestock perished.
Unprecedented rains pushed five million below poverty line, Murad tells David Miliband
The CM said that about 20,000 schools and more than 1,000 health facilities had been damaged. “About 8,500km of the road network and 7,300km of the irrigation network has also been damaged and the estimates suggested that the provincial poverty rate may increase, pushing an additional five million people below the poverty line with over 4.3 million additional people facing the threat of food insecurity,” he added.
The IRC CEO said his organisation was interested in working with the provincial government on relief activities, and plans related to climate change, and in the health sector, particularly in malnutrition and mother-child health domain.
He said the IRC was working in seven districts of the province -- Dadu, Jamshoro, Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, Tharparkar, and Umerkot -- to address malnutrition issues among pregnant mothers.
Strategic action plan
The chief minister and Mr Miliband also discussed the strategic plan developed by the provincial government.
The CM said the ‘strategic action plan’ developed by the provincial government aimed at guiding Sindh’s flood response and priorities from a short-, medium- and long-term perspective. “The core focus of the action plan is to serve as a guide for the strategic prioritisation for planning, programming, and implementation for the province in the post-flood context,” he said and added that the strategic action plan prioritised critical intervention areas to address systemic issues, especially concerning disasters.
According to him, the plan focuses on irrigation and water resource infrastructure, including drainage systems, housing and community facilities, livelihood, communications (roads infrastructure), education, health etc.
The CM told the IRC that the growers had been given cash to purchase wheat seed at a rate of Rs5,000 per acre, as a result the province had grown a bumper crop during the ongoing Rabi season.
He also added that the flood-affected people were being given cash to reconstruct/repair their damaged houses. “The work has been started in Hyderabad and Sukkur divisions,” he added.
The IRC CEO told the CM that he would discuss the issues faced by the provincial government with his team and then visit Karachi to meet him in person to finalise a relief activities programme.
Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2023
