Responding to Floods in Pakistan with Adaptive Social Protection - How to Keep an Inundated Country Afloat

Jul 19, 2026

Upload by Himbo

In 2022, Pakistan experienced severe floods affecting about 33 million people and causing widespread damage to infrastructure and homes. Post-flood analysis shows that although the Government of Pakistan used multiple instruments for response, relief support coverage remained limited. This policy note proposes strengthening the existing social protection system into a well-functioning Adaptive Social Protection System, building pre-shock resilience and enabling rapid, adequate assistance during future crises.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

Background

Flood impacts and damage estimates

Government response and cash transfers

Role of BISP delivery systems

Relevant Literature

Emergency shock response measures

Data and Analysis

Key Findings

Policy Recommendations

Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Responding to Floods in Pakistan with Adaptive Social Protection HOW TO KEEP AN INUNDATED COUNTRY AFLOAT Zaineb Majoka & Yash Dhuldhoya Abstract In 2022, Pakistan was hit by severe floods that affected approximately 33 million people and caused extensive damage to infrastructure and homes. Post-flood analysis indicates that while the Government of Pakistan was able to respond using multiple instruments, the coverage of relief support remained limited. This note aims to identify ways to work with the existing social protection system to build a well-functioning Adaptive Social Protection System, which would build pre-shock resilience and provide rapid and adequate response in times of crises. This note benefited from feedback by Dung Doan (Social Protection Specialist, World Bank), Sarah Coll-Black (Senior Economist, World Bank), and Nihan Rafique (Disaster Risk Management Specialist, World Bank). This research was generously supported by Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, acting through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Trust Fund No. TF073431. Policy Note | Responding to Floods in Pakistan with Adaptive Social Protection 1 Background Between June and August 2022, Pakistan experienced unprecedented rainfalls and floods. This catastrophic natural disaster affected 33 million people, with floodwaters covering roughly onethird of the country. By November 2022, 1,739 individuals had lost their lives, and 897,000 houses had been fully destroyed (National Disaster Management Authority, 2022) . Nearly 8 million individuals were estimated to have been displaced, with 598,000 people forced to live in relief camps (ReliefWeb, 2022) . The floods caused significant damage to community infrastructure, particularly roads and bridges. The Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) of the 2022 Pakistan floods declared more than half of all districts in the country as “calamity-hit areas.”1 PDNA 2022 estimated the cost of damage from the floods to be around US$14 .9 billion, equivalent to 4.8 percent of 2022 gross domestic product (GDP) . The projected cost for recovery and reconstruction was estimated to be 1.6 times the allocated national development budget for the fiscal year 2023. The poverty level in Pakistan was projected to increase by 3.7 to 4.0 percent, resulting in approximately 8.4 million to 9.1 million people being pushed into poverty (Government of Pakistan, 2022) because of loss of livelihood and depleted household assets. In the aftermath of the floods, the Government of Pakistan (GoP) launched many temporary programs to provide relief and to support recovery. 1 On October 11, 2022, Government of Pakistan (GoP) declared 94 districts as “calamity hit”. In the immediate aftermath of the floods, the GoP announced a one-time cash transfer to flood affected families at the end of August 2022, and by the end of October 2022, it had managed to transfer funds to 2.7 million families. The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and the existing delivery systems of Benazir Income Support Program (BISP)– such asthe National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER) and biometric payment system – were leveraged to identify and deliver response to those most likely to be affected by floods. The delivery systems allowed the horizontal and vertical expansion of the program. Since the impact of floods was not limited to the already poor households, the NSER also allowed households living in the affected districts to update their socio-economic data in the NSER so that they could also be considered for the relief support. Countries that make proactive investments in delivery system infrastructure are usually able to respond to shocks more effectively (Rigolini 2025) . The GoP has continued to invest in expanding and improving BISP: the number of BISP beneficiaries increased from 1.76 million families in

FAQs

What problem does the policy note address about flood response in Pakistan?

It addresses limited coverage of relief support despite the use of multiple response instruments, and the need to ensure timely, appropriate assistance to all households in need.

How does the note propose improving flood shock response?

By strengthening Pakistan’s existing social protection system into an Adaptive (shock-responsive) Social Protection System that builds pre-shock resilience and provides rapid post-shock response.

Which delivery systems are highlighted as important for distributing assistance?

The note emphasizes using NADRA and existing delivery mechanisms of BISP, including NSER and biometric payment systems, to identify and deliver support effectively.

Jul 19, 2026

Upload by Himbo