WATCH | Learning for Pakistan: Flood response challenges and opportunities

The scale of the flooding in Pakistan since July is immense, with devastating humanitarian impacts: it has affected 33 million people, displaced nearly 8 million and resulted in $30 billion in combined losses and damages to date. A Humanitarian Outcomes report finds the international aid system has struggled to adapt to the context, and the relief effort has fallen well short of the need. Analysis by ALNAP shows that lessons from the previous Pakistan floods have not been consistently applied and the international sector is challenged to find its role amidst largely locally and nationally-led response.

On December 15, ALNAP, Humanitarian Outcomes and the UK Humanitarian Innovation Hub hosted a webinar which heard from and engaged with researchers, members of Pakistani civil society, humanitarian funders and responders as they explored a number of critical issues:

  • The role, response, and coordination model of the international humanitarian system in middle-income countries like Pakistan, where substantial government, civil society, and disaster management capacity are leading the response.
  • Financing considerations, including the relatively low levels of humanitarian funding, and the role of climate, anticipatory and IFIs (i.e. the World Bank).
  • Poor preparedness and risk reduction efforts despite recurring floods in the region and considerable investment; and the implications this has for future funding of this kind both in Pakistan and other countries impacted by climate change.

Chair

Panel