Pakistan: Dealing with disasters - Oxfam country director

In response to yesterday's news in which Pakistan's disaster authority requests a Rs 20bn allocation to prepare against disasters, Oxfam country director Neva Khan welcomes the authority's steps towards a more resilient and self-reliant Pakistan and supports the call for increasing funds for preparedness, establishing a disaster risk financing fund and above all, formulation of a disaster risk reduction policy.

In the Express Tribune, he reminds that such steps are in line with Pakistan’s commitments under the Hyogo Framework for Action — a 10-year plan to make the world safer from natural hazards — and calls for further steps to be taken by addressing some of the social and economic factors — such as social discrimination, extreme poverty and land rights issues — that make millions of Pakistanis more vulnerable to disasters than others.