An investigation of the targeting and allocation of post-flood disaster aid for rehabilitation in Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Pakistan is listed among the countries that are extremely susceptible to climate changes and it has experienced several natural disaster shocks with tremendous impacts. However, post-disaster recovery and rehabilitation is still a major challenge due to difficulty in targeting the right beneficiaries and the effectiveness of post-disaster aid. This study proposes a conceptual framework and rehabilitation measures for the judicious allocation of two post-disaster aid programmes in the context of 2010 super flood disasters in Pakistan. Using primary data sets from the most severely affected district of province Punjab, it employs Probit and Tobit models and empirically investigates the determinants of better targeting and aid allocation. The results show that ‘cash aid’ for house reconstruction was much better targeted than agricultural assistance in compensating the affected households. The targeting and the effectiveness of aid programmes were mainly determined by gender, membership, farmer size and injured members. Finally, this study suggests that for better targeting of post-disaster aid programmes, local governments and international organizations should pay attention to those families with fewer adult females and injured members, and those without CBO membership.