ISLAMABAD: The World Bank is considering allowing Pakistan to spend $2 billion of its funding, meant for multi-sectoral projects in the country, for flood-victims rehabilitation following devastating floods that have killed over 1,600 people in the country since mid-June.
On Saturday, the World Bank’s newly appointed vice president for the South Asia region revealed that the lender planned to give Pakistan $2 billion to assist the country become more resilient to climate-related threats.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of lives and livelihoods due to the devastating floods and we are working with the federal and provincial governments to provide immediate relief to those who are most affected,” Raiser was quoted as saying in a World Bank press release.
“As an immediate response, we are repurposing funds from existing World Bank-financed projects to support urgent needs in health, food, shelter, rehabilitation and cash transfers,” said Martin Raiser in a statement issued at the end of his Pakistan tour.
54 projects totaling $13.1 billion are included in the portfolio’s latest iteration, according to the World Bank’s resident mission in Islamabad. The portfolio of the World Bank group supports investments and institutional strengthening changes, particularly in fiscal management and human development. At the provincial level, partnerships were being expanded with an emphasis on cross-sectoral projects in areas including children’s nutrition, education, and skills development, irrigated agriculture, tourism, and urban development.
Funds from existing projects being repurposed to support urgent needs in wake of floods, says WB VP Raiser
The World Bank representative travelled to Pakistan’s southern Sindh province, where he met Murad Ali Shah, the chief minister. In order to assess the extent of the devastation, Raiser travelled to the province’s Dadu area, where he met affected families at a relief camp.
