Word Bank approves $1.69 bn to support people in flood-affected Pakistan
Islamabad: The World Bank on Tuesday approved USD 1.692 billion in financing for five projects to support people living in flood-affected areas of cash-strapped Pakistan's Sindh province, according to a media report.
Pakistan witnessed unprecedented monsoon rains over the summer that put a third of the country underwater, damaged two million homes, and killed more than 1,700 people.
Out of the projects announced by the World Bank on Tuesday, three support rehabilitation, housing reconstruction, and the restoration of crop production for vulnerable communities, while the two projects support health services for mothers and children, Dawn reported, citing a statement issued by the global lender.
It said that Sindh was the province worst affected by the 2022 floods as there was huge damage to the housing, health, and agriculture sectors and people lost their livelihoods.
"Beyond the rehabilitation and reconstruction of damaged houses and infrastructure, our engagement in the flood response effort is an opportunity to strengthen resilience, and reform institutions and governance structures," it quoted World Bank Country Director for Pakistan Najy Benhassine as saying.
The global lender said that an amount of USD 500 million has been allocated to the Sindh Flood Emergency Rehabilitation Project' which will help rehabilitate damaged infrastructure, provide short-term livelihood opportunities, and strengthen the government's capacity to respond to disasters.
The statement added that at least 2 million people approximately 50 per cent of whom were women in the most flood-affected districts will benefit from the restoration and the resilient reconstruction of critical infrastructure.
The World Bank said that the Sindh Floods Emergency Housing Reconstruction Project will support owner-driven and multi-hazard resilient reconstruction of core housing units. A housing subsidy will provide reconstruction and restoration grants for 350,000 housing units.
The bank also said that the Sindh Water and Agriculture Transformation Project will increase agricultural water productivity, improve integrated water resources management, and restore crop production by flood-affected farmers.
It predicted that 885,000 households were expected to benefit from the project. As an immediate response to the floods, the project will provide cash transfers to 800,000 flood-affected farming households to help restore crop production through the purchase of seeds, fertilizer, and other critical inputs.
The Sindh Strengthening Social Protection Delivery System Project will strengthen the provincial social protection delivery system and enhance access to and utilisation of maternal and child health services, according the WB statement.
The global lender also stated that the Sindh Integrated Health and Population Project will help improve both the quality and utilisation of basic reproductive, maternal, newborn, children and adolescent health and nutrition services.
It will also help in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of health infrastructure that was damaged in the floods, disrupting the delivery of these services.
The project will improve access to quality healthcare services for the population of the selected government dispensaries in remote and peri-urban areas especially women, girls, and children, and in the flood-affected settlements in Sindh, the bank said.
