Attachments
Observations and Opportunities
The Lessons Learned report provides a strategic level overview of lessons learned by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Government of Pakistan, and its partners from rescue and relief activities in the immediate aftermath of the catastrophic 2010 floods. The report focuses on the complexity of responding to a disaster of the magnitude that Pakistan experienced, and what NDMA has learned from the achievements and challenges from an organizational perspective, and institutional relationships. It comprises input from the experiences of some of the many government agencies, donors, military, UN, and individuals who came to the assistance of the affected communities. Most importantly, it makes key recommendations on critical areas to be addressed to improve disaster management and response. The full report will be released this week.
The generous contribution of all partners to the relief effort and to this review, epitomizes the best of humanitarian response to assist the people of Pakistan in times of great need. The combined experiences are a valuable resource to enhance preparation, response and management of future disasters. NDMA and the Government of Pakistan are deeply grateful to all.
The information has been gathered through a series of consultations with stakeholders, written contributions by various thematic clusters (supported by the UN) in consultation with their members, internal consultations within NDMA, and the desk review of available documents. The key issues that emerged from the process can be grouped around three main themes – coordination, understanding of the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders, and capacity.