Building Back Better: Post-Earthquake Responses and Educational Challenges in Pakistan

The critical role of education in relief and early reconstruction in the aftermath of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, has only recently been acknowledged in international forums. Only days after Pakistan's devastating earthquake in 2005, children, their families, and communities began to prioritize education as a critical service that should be resumed as quickly as possible. Despite the devastation, the loss of life, and the awareness that reconstruction would take many years, there was also a window of opportunity to improve the education system and to significantly increase education access and quality. The Government of Pakistan?s call to build back better captured this potential. Yet, fulfilling the promise of education in the immediate relief and early recovery phases was not easy. It required preparedness, strategic planning, co-ordination, and partnership. This study documents the ways in which education actors were able to respond to the needs of children in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. It highlights the importance of emergency preparedness in an area prone to natural disasters, of strong government leadership, and of systematic sector co-ordination. In this, government authorities, donors, and education actors in UN agencies and NGOs all have important roles to play.