espite international support and financing from donors for the rehabilitation of infrastructure and reconstruction of houses destroyed during the floods in 2022, a majority of the affected people of Sindh still await rehabilitation.

The landmark project for the reconstruction of damaged houses, is still incomplete despite the passage of two years.

The monsoon in 2022 caused significant devastation across the country but its impact was most severe in Sindh, where rainfall exceeded five times the 30-year average. Between June and September 2022, Sindh received 777 percent more rainfall than normal; some areas received more than 1,700 millimetres of rain.

The deluge made 23.4 million people in the province homeless.

The devastating floods killed 760 people in Sindh alone, wounded 8,422 others, and damaged or destroyed more than 2.2 million dwellings. Agricultural losses were particularly severe, with nearly 3.6 million acres of farms flooded, resulting in the devastation of standing crops of cotton, dates, chilies and sugarcane.

The livestock industry incurred considerable losses. Over 500,000 cattle were killed, severely affecting rural livelihoods. Infrastructure was extensively destroyed, with 1,465 kilometres of roads and 172 bridges destroyed or damaged, including 49 health institutions.

The economic impact on Sindh was huge, with preliminary evaluations by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and European Union projecting damages of more than $20 billion. Over 7.9 million people were displaced as a result of the flooding, forcing them to seek temporary shelter in relief camps.

The Badin, Dadu, Larkana, Qambar Shahdadkot, Jamshoro, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar and Thatta districts were among the worst hit. Some places remained inundated for months after the rains. The disaster also caused secondary crises, such as waterborne infections, food shortages and loss of educational facilities, with 2,882 schools damaged or destroyed throughout the province.

This destruction caught the world’s attention and many donors committed financial support to the government to overcome the crisis. By January 2023, Pakistan had received nearly $8.57 billion in foreign aid. Funding from the World Bank, the Asian Development and the Islamic Development Bank was also significant.

The Sindh province received several development and reconstruction projects after the 2022 floods. The World Bank approved $1.692 billion financing for five key projects to support the people living in flood-affected areas of Sindh. Three of these projects support rehabilitation and housing reconstruction and the restoration of crop production for vulnerable communities. Two other projects support health services for mothers and children.

The $500 million Sindh Floods Emergency Housing Reconstruction Project was a major initiative to support owner-driven and multi-hazard resilient reconstruction of core housing units. A housing subsidy is being provided for reconstruction and restoration grants for 350,000 housing units, about 20 per cent of the total housing rehabilitation needs for Sindh. Cash grants are being provided for houses with structural damage to partially finance reconstruction or restoration. In addition, basic rainwater harvesting systems and twin pit latrines will be provided to improve access to water and sanitation.

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah recently claimed that more than 125,000 houses had been prepared till August 2024. A total of 525,000 houses are currently under construction, the provincial government said.

A community-level cash-for-work programme provided short-term income support to nearly 100,000 households. This included semi-skilled and unskilled labour and will support livestock re-stocking. 

The gigantic task needed a lot of mobilisation and documentation of the affected people. The housing project has also involved five non-governmental organisations assisting people in obtaining identity cards, opening bank accounts and designing and reconstructing one-room houses. The money is directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.

“A large majority of people are uneducated and don’t have proper documents,” says Mohammad Hashim, a volunteer for an NGO that is assisting the affected.

Hashim says there are several challenges and gaps in the implementation of the projects due to factors like rising costs and limited availability of building materials, lack of capacity at local institutions, risks related to financial management and corruption and ensuring compliance with environmental and social safeguards.

Another effort is the $500 million Sindh Flood Emergency Rehabilitation Project funded by the World Bank. It aims to rehabilitate the damaged infrastructure, provide short-term livelihood opportunities and strengthen the government’s capacity to respond to disasters. Under the project, the Sindh government is restoring and improving critical irrigation and flood protection infrastructure, water supply schemes, roads and related infrastructure. At least 2 million people, about 50 percent of whom are women, in the most flood-affected districts are expected to benefit from the project.

A community-level cash-for-work programme provided short-term income support to nearly 100,000 households. This included semi-skilled and unskilled labour and will support livestock re-stocking for affected small farmers.

This includes the restoration of essential services, such as water supply, roads and other critical infrastructure. By focusing on these areas, the project aims to not only rebuild what was lost but also to enhance the resilience of these communities against future natural disasters.

In addition to physical reconstruction, the SFERP places emphasis on institutional strengthening and capacity building. This involves training local government officials and community leaders in disaster response and management, ensuring that they are better prepared for future emergencies. The project also includes measures to improve environmental and social safeguards, making sure that the rehabilitation efforts are sustainable and inclusive.

A development expert in Karachi says the project is an extension of an earlier World Bank-funded project called the Sindh Resilience Project, an initiative aimed at improving flood and drought management and enhancing disaster preparedness. The project was approved in December 2015 with an initial commitment of $100 million.

The project had significantly improved flood protection infrastructure; several embankments were strengthened and small dams constructed in drought-prone areas.

Advancements were also made in enhancing the early warning systems for floods and droughts.

Despite the vital multi-lateral funding, the pace of rehabilitation has been slow. For this inefficiency in the government departments and lack of political will have been blamed.

The writer is a senior journalist, currently working as development communication professional in Karachi.