he government of Sindh, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, organised the Resilient Sindh: From Pledges to Reconstruction conference in Karachi on February 8. The conference aimed at bringing together stakeholders and experts from various sectors to concretise avenues of collaboration for a resilient recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of Sindh in the aftermath of the devastating floods that have ravaged the province.

Described as a “monsoon on steroids,” the climate catastrophe affected over 33 million people in the country. Sindh was the most affected province with 70 percent of the land submerged and over 12.4 million people affected by torrential rains. A post-disaster needs assessment was undertaken to quantify the damage and losses that were estimated to be more than $20 billion for Sindh, constituting about 70 percent of the country’s damage and losses. Twenty four out of the 30 Sindh districts were declared calamity-hit as more than 800 people lost their lives.

The devastation wrought havoc on almost all conceivable facets of life in the province. It damaged or destroyed more than 2 million houses, standing crops on 3.8 million acres and almost 0.45 million livestock. About 20,000 schools have also been affected besides over 1,000 health facilities. A preliminary analysis has shown stark estimates for Sindh with over 5 million people at the risk of being pushed below the poverty line, about 4.3 million facing the threat of food security and 2.15 million susceptible to job losses in the calamity-hit districts.

The resilient Sindh conference served as a logical follow-up to the Geneva conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan on January 9. The overarching objective was to harness international and local support towards priority sectors for the people in the aftermath of the devastating floods.

The conference was inaugurated by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, who emphasised the importance of concretising meaningful collaborations for resilient recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction for Sindh. He hoped that generous pledges in Geneva of over $10 billion can be effectively channelised and translated into high-impact projects to alleviate the suffering of affected communities.

The United Nations in Pakistan’s resident humanitarian coordinator, Julien Harneis, highlighted the UN’s continued support to the government in relief and recovery from the devastating floods and stressed on the need for empathising with the human impact of climate change.

Knut Ostby, the UNDP resident representative in Pakistan, emphasised the need for building resilience and adaption of communities and institutions to effectively prioritise sustainable development goals encompassing poverty reduction, food security, gender empowerment and access to quality education.

Given the dwindling fiscal space,leveraging public-private partnerships and innovative financing mechanisms can go a long way towards building a more resilient Pakistan, especially the province of Sindh; one that is better equipped to face the challenges of the future.

Presentations were made by Dr Sohail Rajput, the chief secretary, Hassan Naqvi, the Planning and Development Board chairman, Najam Shah, the additional chief secretary in charge of Local Government Department, and Khalid Shaikh, the secretary for implementation and coordination.

The participants were briefed on the government’s strategic priorities, potential flood rehabilitation projects, governance mechanisms, joint survey for housing damage assessment and the implementation framework for the government’s housing project.

The government presented its action plan vis-à-vis post-disaster response to delineate its strategic priorities and implementation plans across the priority sectors of irrigation systems, housing and community facilities, roads infrastructure, livelihood, health, education and human impact.

The institutional arrangements for planning and implementation were also elucidated to foster an integrated and harmonised approach to post-flood recovery and reconstruction efforts. The conference also saw the launch of the Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees programme for re-building 2.1 million.

Several memoranda of understanding were signed with implementing partners, including the Sindh Rural Support Organisation (SRSO), the Health and Nutrition Development Society (HANDS), Thardeep Rural Development Programme (TRDP), National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) and Sustainable Access to Financial Opportunities (SAFCO) Support Foundation.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari asked the government to leave no stone unturned in easing the sufferings of the families who had lost their lives and livelihoods. He directed the government to award ownership rights to the affected people, especially women who had lost their houses in the floods.

He said the federal government and the IMF must ensure that the brunt of the economic reforms was not borne by the already distressed flood-affected communities.

As we move forward, it is crucial to prioritise the needs and voices of the affected communities, especially the most vulnerable. Building resilience is not just about raising infrastructure; it is also about empowering communities and ensuring that they have the resources to cope with future disasters.

Mainstreaming climate change in the policy discourse and embedding climate change adaptation and mitigation in the planning systems is the need of the hour to yield beneficial societal impact. Given the dwindling fiscal space, leveraging public-private partnerships and innovative financing mechanisms can go a long way towards building a more resilient Pakistan, especially Sindh, one that is better equipped to face the challenges of the future.

The writer is a Fulbright scholar with a master’s degree in international development studies and a public policy advisor. He can be reached at okhan1@gwu.edu