Months after an unprecedented series of floods ravaged Pakistan, vast masses of cropland and villages remain inundated, infiltrating every aspect of life for those living in affected areas. It is estimated that nearly 10 million girls and boys remain in need of life-saving support, many people continue to live in deplorable conditions, out in the open in makeshift tents, right next to contaminated water that has fermented a large host of waterborne infections. Approximately 2000 public health facilities, including hospitals and clinics, have been destroyed, and water systems and schools damaged. Sindh remains the worst affected province, with nearly 70% in loss and damages, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Punjab. The situation is still evolving and the broader macroeconomic impact of the floods has not yet been determined but one thing is certain; the longer this crisis continues, the greater the risk to people’s physical and mental well-being. Compounding the country’s long-standing economic difficulties, the floods are projected to have significant implications on agricultural output. Loss in GDP is estimated at around 2.2 per cent of FY22, it is likely that these damages will have spillover effects on the industry, external trade and services sector. Multidimensional poverty will also witness a tremendous increase, at 5.9 per cent, meaning that approximately 1.9 million households are at risk of being pushed below the poverty line. While the government is already providing immediate relief to those who have been the worst hit by the floods, it is unlikely that it can undertake this tremendous task all by itself. In the face of scarce public resources to devote to reconstruction and recovery, Pakistan does not stand a shot at mitigating its macroeconomic imbalances without international support. The government must lay the groundwork for a recovery and reconstruction agenda that prioritizes climate resistance to mitigate the impact of climate disasters in the future. The country is presented with an opportunity to embed resilience to natural hazards in its overall developmental planning schemes. This year has proved that better public spending, specifically investments targeted to vulnerable populations, must take precedence above all else. We must aim to strike a synergy between humanitarian efforts and future public planning schemes; that is the true essence of building back better. *