Project launched for building capacity against disasters

World Bank-funded programme aims at strengthening NDMA, ADPC to develop resilience in country

ISLAMABAD: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) jointly launched a 16-month project on Thursday aimed at strengthening both these institutions to develop resilience in Pakistan.

The World Bank has provided the financial support under the EU-South Asia Capacity-Building for Disaster Risk Management Programme, administered by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery.

According to a press release issued by NDMA, the World Bank intends to facilitate a long-term disaster risk management and the climate change adaptation capacity development investment in partnership with the NDMA.



The current project is expected to engage with senior officials representing the federal and provincial governments on a range of activities, including national trainings, policy dialogues, international trainings and exposure visits and lesson-sharing workshops.

The NDMA’s Member, Operations, Brigadier Mukhtar Ahmed, said the timely support from the World Bank will significantly complement the authority’s ongoing capacity-building efforts across Pakistan.

“We believe the design of the project will allow government officials to learn both conceptual and practical elements of the disaster risk management and the climate change adaptation in a more meaningful manner,” Ahmed said.

As part of the capacity-building programme, the ADPC would be imparting training to senior government officers on advanced concepts of urban and fiscal resilience to disasters and climate impacts.

“We are partnering with NDMA and key stakeholders for improving Pakistan’s resilience to natural disasters”, Haris Khan, Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist of the World Bank in Pakistan, said. “Building resilience to disaster and climate impacts is critical to ensure reduction in extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity in the country.”



The beginning of the project was officially marked on Thursday with an advanced disaster resilience training course in Islamabad, while a high-level policy dialogue with development partners will also be organised later this week.

The training course was attended by senior officials from the NDMA, Federal Flood Commission, Ministry of Climate Change, Geological Survey of Pakistan, Meteorological Department and Planning Commission, the press release said.