Pakistan launches strategy for climate disaster anticipatory action

The strategy promotes a proactive approach to disaster management by using risk forecasts, early warnings and pre-arranged funding to trigger timely action before disasters occur, helping protect lives, livelihoods and essential assets.

The initiative builds on a joint programme implemented by the WFP and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), with financial support from the European Union (EU). The programme has strengthened early warning systems, tested response protocols and integrated anticipatory action into disaster risk management and development planning at national and provincial levels.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik said timely preparedness, effective early warning systems and coordinated institutional responses were essential to reduce disaster risks and protect vulnerable communities from increasingly frequent climate-induced hazards.

According to the WFP, climate-related disasters have caused more than US$18 billion in damages in Pakistan over the past two decades. Including the devastating floods of 2010, 2011 and 2022, total losses exceed US$60 billion. The 2025 monsoon floods affected 6.9 million people, while 2026 has already brought warnings of droughts and flash floods linked to El Niño.

When Climate Change Becomes a Health Crisis

The effectiveness of anticipatory action was demonstrated during the 2025 floods in Sindh’s Khairpur district, where WFP and FAO, with EU support, provided US$179 (Rs50,000) in cash assistance per household to 15,000 vulnerable people three days before peak flooding. The assistance enabled families to buy food, evacuate safely and protect livestock and other valuable assets.

WFP Representative and Country Director in Pakistan Anita Hirsch said evidence shows that every dollar invested in anticipatory action can save up to seven dollars in avoided losses. FAO Pakistan Officer-in-Charge James Robert Okoth said early action helps safeguard lives, agriculture, livestock and the long-term resilience of vulnerable communities.

The WFP said future efforts will focus on strengthening provincial coordination and developing pre-disaster financing mechanisms with support from international partners, including the European Union and Germany’s GIZ, to ensure early warnings lead to timely action.