The land was covered with brown water as far as the eye could see, and people were at a loss for what to do in front of their collapsed houses. From June to August last year, intermittent monsoon rains in Pakistan brought heavy flooding that affected as many as 33 million people. The socially vulnerable were especially hard hit, and the women domestic workers (*1) with whom JICA has been cooperating with suffered great damage, including the loss of their homes. JICA provided immediate assistance to these vulnerable people in the immediate aftermath of the floods through the cooperative relationship it has built up. Now, one year after the floods, JICA is accelerating its efforts to reduce flood risks in order to prevent the next disaster and to support Pakistan’s economic development.
*1…A person who earns income by producing goods or providing services in the home. In Pakistan, women are less likely to work outside the home due to religious and cultural practices, and a higher percentage of women are engaged in domestic labor. Domestic workers are not subject to labor standards laws and often face difficult problems such as exploitation and poor working conditions.
Sindh province, which was particularly hard hit.
According to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority, approximately 15% of the country’s population, or 33 million people, were affected by the floods, and approximately 2.3 million houses were either completely or partially destroyed. The most severely affected areas are in the rural areas of Sindh Province, located in southeastern Pakistan. In this province, torrential rains occurred even in places where it does not usually rain, and it was reported that the rainfall in August was about eight times that of a normal year.
A woman sits in front of her collapsed house in Sakkar, Sindh.
Prompt support through past cooperation with local NGOs
In August 2022, the Pakistani government declared a state of emergency in response to the floods, In August 2022, the Pakistani government declared a state of emergency in response to the flooding, but prior to that, the local NGO with which the project is collaborating informed the project staff that the amount of rainfall in the Sakkar area of the province where the project is active was unusual. Women were also asking for help, saying, “Our houses have been swept away. Amidst the cries of “We need your help,” volunteers pooled their funds and began distributing food and daily necessities on a moment’s notice.
Hajani Maher, a staff member of a local NGO, and other project staff were involved in the emergency relief efforts. I started support activities immediately after the disaster, but there were some difficulties, such as heavy rains that blocked my way home, and flooding that caused the road to cave in and almost fall down. My own house was also damaged, and my family told me, ‘This is no time to be helping people when your own house is destroyed,’ but I couldn’t stand still when I saw the victims facing more dire situations,” said Hajani Maher.
While it took time for government assistance to arrive, these supports were truly a lifeline for the survivors. As the weather recovered and the waters began to recede, mosquitoes began to appear in large numbers, spreading malaria, dengue fever, and other infectious diseases. We therefore continued to deliver supplies tailored to local conditions, this time distributing mosquito nets as part of our project activities.
(Left) Hajani Maher, a staff member of a local NGO, distributing emergency relief supplies to affected domestic workers immediately after the flooding (Right) Women receiving emergency relief supplies packed with food and other items
Digital training results demonstrated in SOS transmission during flooding
These prompt assistance tailored to local needs was the result of trusting relationships with local NGOs and project target women that had been cultivated through years of cooperation.
After the Corona disaster, the project had conducted training on digital marketing to expand sales channels for the handicrafts produced by the women so that they could sell their products through social networking services. This digital training and the communication that had been conducted on a regular basis were of great help in sending out SOS messages during the disaster. Thanks to the training, the women were able to exchange messages on their smartphones, and immediately after the floods, they sent videos and photos of the real damage in the area to the project staff.
Women learning to operate a smartphone to learn about digital marketing (training conducted before the flood).
At the time, it was difficult to obtain information about the flood damage, so thanks to their communication, we were able to grasp the local situation and quickly provide assistance,” said Chiyo Mangu (Kaihatsu Management Consulting), the JICA expert overseeing the project.
One person who contacted us about the situation in the affected villages was Irshad Shahnawaz. He actively participated in digital training and learned to operate a smartphone. Since he had one of the three smartphones distributed to the village, he served as a liaison during the flooding.
Most of the houses were destroyed by the floods and the roads were cut off. We were very worried because we had no food. The distribution of blankets and sanitary kits was also very helpful.
Irshad Shahnawaz, who used his smartphone to inform people of the disaster in his village.
The project resumed digital training and literacy education around October of last year. The women are also moving forward, using the income-enhancing skills they acquired through the project to rebuild their lives. In addition, a large exhibition was held in Karachi, the provincial capital, to sell the handicrafts produced by the women in order to secure income. The six-year project will come to an end in December of this year, but Ms. Mangu is working hard to build a framework for the future, saying, “We are discussing with the local government so that more women can acquire the same skills.
(Left) Exhibition and sale of handicrafts held in Karachi, the capital of Sindh province, in February 2023 (Right) Women in cooperation working on their handicrafts
To solve the fundamental challenge of reducing flood risks
In addition to this project, JICA continues to provide reconstruction assistance in various other areas throughout Pakistan, including education, health, agriculture, and infrastructure development. In the education sector, among others, JICA has begun rebuilding primary and secondary schools damaged by the floods. The school facilities that JICA supported in Sindh Province were able to avoid serious damage because the floor height was set based on the damage caused by the flooding in 2010. As a result, the school facility was recognized by the Pakistani government for its efforts and achievements in disaster mitigation. As a result, the school was asked to rehabilitate other schools that were destroyed by the 2022 floods and to share its knowledge on how to build disaster-resistant schools.
A girls’ junior high school in Sindh province built with JICA assistance. The school was used as an evacuation center without serious damage from the floods.
In addition, JICA has started before the recent floods to cooperate in promoting investment in proactive disaster prevention to solve the fundamental problem of reducing flood risks. Pakistan’s economy has developed around the Indus River, which flows through the center of the country at a length of approximately 3,000 km. The country has a history of repeated flooding, and strengthening the flood control capacity of the Indus River is one of the most important issues for supporting the country’s development and growth.
Immediately after the recent floods, we participated in the Post-disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) and contributed to the compilation of the necessary cooperation direction by reiterating the importance of disaster risk reduction through proactive disaster risk reduction investments, which we had advised the Government of Pakistan. One example of this is the cooperation in the Indus River basin, which has been a major source of investment in disaster reduction. As one example, a new technical cooperation project was initiated to strengthen the levee management capacity of the Indus River. We will also analyze the impact of climate change on the recent floods that have occurred in Pakistan and conduct a survey of the current status of the levees to raise the level of Pakistan’s flood control capacity.
Conduct a seminar on climate change impacts and levee maintenance with the Government of Pakistan in March 2023, including Japanese experts in the climate change and flood control sectors.
This technical cooperation is JICA’s first “technical cooperation for disaster response. This is a new initiative introduced last year to provide prompt assistance in response to emergencies such as natural disasters and infectious diseases. Normally, it takes a certain amount of time from the request of the counterpart government to the start of technical cooperation, including preliminary surveys, etc., but this technical cooperation for disaster response has significantly shortened the time to start by utilizing the past cooperative relationship with JICA. We will promote a flexible response that meets the needs of the field.
As natural disasters caused by extreme weather occur frequently in many parts of the world, it is also expected that through future efforts in Pakistan, further knowledge will be accumulated to prepare for and counter natural disasters that may occur in the future.
© Source JICA
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