After the flood in Pakistan: Assessing vulnerability in rural Sindh

Abstract

The report presented here draws the attention to one of the least-studied regions of Pakistan and to three districts in Sindh Province. The report covers eight villages in Sindh's Badin, Dadu, and Thatta districts. The selection of villages is strongly linked to the initiators and sponsors of this independent research project. The German Red Cross (GRC) and the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) suggested to the Centre for Development Studies at Freie Universität Berlin to cooperate again - after a successful joint evaluation of development packages in Kashmir in 2009 (see volume 36 of this series) - in an assessment in Sindh Province. This time, the terms for the assessment followed a different rationale in involving the independent academic supporters. With relief operations coming to an end in Sindh, a strategy and a vision needed to be designed for enhanced development cooperation. The dire needs of the flood affectees in the villages should be the guiding principle for the implementation of development packages. Their experiences and voices are the most important source of knowledge that has to be combined with feasible packages and practical moves. A major challenge is to define packages that are efficient in uplifting the living conditions, that reach the most vulnerable groups and that will have some lasting effects.