NDMA holds national workshop on disaster risk insurance framework for Pakistan
NDMA in collaboration with Climate & Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), LEAD Pakistan organized a National Workshop on Disaster Risk Insurance Framework on 8th February, at Marriot Hotel, Islamabad in order to create synergizes among various stakeholders in the area of disaster risk financing. Disaster Risk Insurance Framework aims at providing low-income households accessible and affordable insurance. It is in fact a unique and innovative initiative to mitigate impacts on vulnerable communities. This pioneering initiative is a significant contribution towards strengthening Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in the Country.
The Government of Pakistan is committed to protect vulnerable and marginalized communities from economic losses due to natural calamities and man-made disasters. Social safety nets and Disaster Risk Management approaches are an important component of this approach. This undertaking may serve as a stepping stone for operationalizing this mechanism in various parts of the Country. This will enable protection of vulnerable Communities from the adverse effects of extreme weather events. Modern funding approaches such as insurance of the vulnerable communities are emerging as important instruments in this regard and NDMA’s initiative is in step with such thinking. Investment of private sector will not only help less burden on public sector but also help swift recovery of affected population back to life.
The proposed Framework is based on the findings of a well deliberated Demand Study in five districts (Tharparkar, Poonch, Charsadda, Rawalpindi and Ziarat) of Pakistan and AJK. The findings from the study indicate a strong prospects for setting up a disaster risk insurance mechanism in the country for low income groups. The outputs from this study will provides a solid foundation for various stakeholders to move towards implementing such frameworks in vulnerable areas of the Country. The workshop was attended by representatives of key Federal departments, Provincial/Regional departments, Embassies, UN Agencies, INGOs, Private and Insurance Sector.