The Pakistan Floods 2010: Public Policy Lessons

Abstract

The 2010 monsoon floods were perhaps the most devastating natural disaster in the country's history. With over 20 million people affected and one-fifth of the country under water, the government of Pakistan and the international humanitarian community themselves under tremendous pressure to orchestrate an effective responses. The challenging task of coordinating responses from numerous stakeholders and making effective policies was jointly done by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) as well as the UN-led humanitarian responses system. Being closely associated with this process, the author offers insights from a public policy perspective. In particular, the paper deals with stakeholder interests within the government and outside and presents dilemmas of prioritization and resource allocation. The paper is intended to be a policy brief for those interested in disaster response and more generally the subject of public policy.