Daily Times

As part of response, recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation under Floods Response 2022, Save the Children International (SCI) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Inger Ashing is meeting with senior officials of the Sindh government. The delegation seeks insights and fostering collaborations for carrying out the advanced phase of Floods Response 2022 and contributing toward disaster-resilient Sindh. The delegation comprising the Country Director Pakistan Muhammad Khuram Gondal, the Senior Management Team of the Pakistan Country Office, members from the Asia Pacific region and an international team visited PDMA Sindh, Department of Environment and Climate Change, and Sindh Peoples Housing for the Flood Affectees (SPHF), a news release said.

In their mission towards floods resilient province, Save the Children International and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Sindh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish collaborative mechanisms to respond to future emergencies and disasters in the province, and coordinate for sustainable climate-resilient planning, programming, and investments. The main objective of this MoU is to make Sindh Province disaster resilient and the community well-equipped to mitigate the effects of disasters and take timely actions.

Director General PDMA Sindh Syed Salman Shah appreciated the role of SCI during floods 2022 and thanked CEO SCI for taking a keen interest in flood response in Pakistan and working towards making Pakistan climate resilient. CEO SCI, Inger Ashing after assessing the magnitude of devastation caused by the floods in 2022, said that only joint efforts can help manage disasters of such scale and prepare for the future. “I wholeheartedly appreciate the efforts of the Government of Sindh in initiating these multi-sectoral integrated programs to deal with the adversities of floods 2022.”

She expressed keen interest in working with government machinery to make complete reconstruction and rehabilitation possible in the most effective manner. She further added that “I would like to highlight that Climate Change is the cross-cutting theme of Save The Children International and we are committed to safeguarding the well-being of communities, especially children and protecting them from the effects of climate change.” Country Director Save the Children in Pakistan, Muhammad Khuram Gondal, briefed government officials on efforts made to ensure the physical and mental well being of communities especially children in the flood-hit districts and expressed his commitment to work together with PDMA Sindh to make Sindh province disaster resilient. CEO SCI, Inger Ashing also met with officials of the Department of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Sindh. Agha Wasif Abbas, Secretary of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Sindh said that the scale of devastation post floods 2022 served to catalyze the public sector development paradigm towards sustainable climate-resilient planning, programming, and investments.

Department of Environment and Climate Change being swift in their disaster preparedness and mitigation efforts has launched Sindh’s Strategic Policy for Floods Response 2022. Director General Climate Change & Coastal Development, Government of Sindh, Akhlaque A. Qureshi shared that this strategic policy is a ‘live document’ that aims to guide Sindh’s Flood Response, from a medium- to long-term perspective, to foster climate-resilient policies and strategies. On their visit to SPHF, the Secretary Implementation, Govt of Sindh, and CEO SPHF, Khalid Mehmood Sheikh shared with Save the Children that besides continuous efforts of SPHF, there are still many areas that need attention especially initiatives for Persons with Disabilities including children, women inclusion, and WASH for which SPHF is willing to collaborate with Save the Children International.

The representatives of both organisations decided to work closely for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of flood-affected areas of Sindh.