The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), CARE International, and the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (Acted) convened an inception workshop to formally launch the Climate Resilience and Humanitarian Response (CRHR) programme in Pakistan.
Supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the Government of the United Kingdom, the CRHR Programme (2024-2028) is a key component of FCDO’s national Building Resilience and Addressing Vulnerabilities to Emergencies (BRAVE) programme in Pakistan.
Pakistan faces severe challenges from the escalating impacts of climate change, ranking 8th on the 2021 Climate Risk Index and 24th on the 2023 Inform Index, highlighting its extreme vulnerability to climate and environmental-related disasters such as floods, heatwaves, earthquakes, and droughts.
The CRHR-BRAVE consortium led by IOM, in collaboration with two other UN agencies (UNICEF and FAO) and three international NGOs (ACTED, IRW, and CARE), aims to strengthen disaster preparedness, humanitarian response capacities, and long-term climate resilience in Pakistan’s most vulnerable regions. The consortium is committed to implementing scalable, climate-resilient interventions in Sindh, Balochistan, and Punjab-three provinces severely impacted by natural hazards and climate change.
During her welcome remarks, Mio Sato, Chief of Mission, IOM Pakistan, emphasized the growing climate challenges in Pakistan. “As the impacts of climate change are unfortunately projected to increase in Pakistan, there is a pressing need for sustained support to Pakistan to address the gaps in climate resilience capabilities by focusing on strengthening Pakistan’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation capacities, particularly at the local levels where the needs are greatest and investments lack behind.”
The workshop brought together representatives from FCDO, the Government of Pakistan’s Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives (MoPD & SI), the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination (MoCC), the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the National Commission for Status of Women, the National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF), the Provincial Planning & Development Departments, and Provincial Disaster Management Authorities.
Senior Joint Secretary Muhammad Farooq from MoCC shared the ministry’s commitment to prioritizing climate change adaptation, with a focus on water resource management, agriculture, and disaster preparedness. “International collaboration and capacity building are key priorities in addressing climate change challenges. MoCC seeks support in strengthening resilience through data, research, and policy development, and the BRAVE project will contribute significantly to these efforts.”
The inception workshop brought stakeholders together to align on the CRHR-BRAVE project’s objectives, implementation framework, and coordination mechanisms. Through interactive discussions, it fostered dialogue on risk identification and mitigation strategies, establishing a solid foundation for effective collaboration.
Over the next three and a half years, the CRHR project will focus on three key outcomes:
1. Addressing the immediate humanitarian needs of those most acutely affected by natural hazards in Pakistan.
2. Delivering high-impact solutions that will build the resilience of communities at the forefront of climate change.
3. Strengthening the capacity of national and local systems that can contribute to the long-term climate resilience of Pakistan.