Pakistan's vulnerability to natural and human induced disasters is characterized by earthquakes, floods, droughts, cyclones, landslides, sea hazards and a range of complex emergencies. The response to the earthquake of 2005 signified the importance of a national platform to manage and coordinate the response efforts to deal with the risk of disasters in a synchronized manner. To address the existing shortcomings in disaster response and management, and to be compliant with the international commitments including the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) 1999 and Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015, National Disaster Management Ordinance (NDMO) was promulgated in 2006, which was formally enacted as National Disaster Management (NDM) Act in 2010 by the Parliament. The Act provides a framework based on decentralized risk governance and disaster risk reduction. Foundation of the required institutional infrastructure was laid down and National Disaster Management Commission (NDMC), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Provincial Disaster Management Commissions (PDMC), Provincial/State Disaster Management Authorities (P/SDMAs) and District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs) were established in 2010 and 2011 for policy advocacy and mainstreaming the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in the development paradigm. 2011 was a year of transition for NDMA, whereby the philosophy of DRM was actually transformed from its conceptual phase to integration at policy and implementation phase. Despite managing the aftermaths of 2010 floods and responding to the unprecedented floods of 2011, a number of key organizational milestones were achieved, which remained key successes of the year 2011. Among these initiatives, National Disaster Risk Reduction Policy was of foremost importance, which was formulated with focus on prevention, mitigation and preparedness aspects of DRM. To translate DRM policy imperatives into an implementation framework, a ten year National Disaster Management Plan (2012-2022) was formulated. The plan will help manage the entire spectrum of DRM through policy intervention, implementation of critical actions and institutional capacity building for mitigation, prevention and preparedness besides response and recovery.
NDMA is trailblazing the concept of establishing the Disaster Risk Insurance Fund (DRIF), which is a major innovation in the development history of Pakistan. The Fund aims at providing viable insurance solution to poor and vulnerable of the society covering different types of disasters. NDMA has been in contact with leading national and international insurance firms to come with index-based micro insurance solutions, covering life, food security, housing, small businesses, crops and livestock. Cognizant to its role as policy advocate for DRM, NDMA was actively engaged with the newly created Ministry of Climate Change for considering inclusion of a chapter on DRM in draft National Policy on Climate Change. Based on inputs from NDMA, National Climate Change Policy document now includes a section on disaster preparedness and adaptation to climate change which lists a number of policy measures.
On institutional front, One UN DRM Joint Programme remained a collaborative effort of the UN system in Pakistan, being implemented by NDMA together with 19 UN agencies. Adequate financial and technical assistance has been received through this programme for institutionalizing DRM and enhancing capacities at national, provincial and district levels.