ADB Approves $5 Million for Pakistan’s Flood-Affected Areas

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved emergency assistance of $5 million aimed at supporting operational priority on addressing remaining poverty and reducing inequalities and accelerating progress in gender equity. The bank will support rural farm households, including women, in the four districts in Nasirabad Division that have canal-irrigated cropland. It will provide 60,000 out of a total of 188,000 households in the target districts with climate-resilient rice seed. The proposed additional financing will also provide women from the targeted farm households with durable farming tool kits to assist them in undertaking farming activities. Protective footwear will also be provided for safer rice transplanting. The additional financing will also incorporate measures to strengthen community resilience to disasters caused by natural hazards. The government of Pakistan undertook a post-disaster needs assessment in September and October 2022. This was supported by a team of development partners comprising ADB, the European Union, the World Bank, United Nations agencies, and other organizations. The government also prepared the 2022 flood response framework in December 2022. This provides the basis for the development of a disaster recovery framework and arrangements for an effective, efficient, and coordinated post-flood recovery and reconstruction plan.