Relief is Not the Recipe!

In 2001-02, the Punjab Government has declared more than 6,000 revenue estates and villages of various districts of the province as calamity-hit areas due to drought, virus and deployment of the army in border districts. The Punjab Minister for Revenue and Relief, Mr Mohammad Aslam Khan, has reportedly directed field staff to ensure timely distribution of relief to calamity-hit farmers and villagers. Last year too, about 3,437 villages in Punjab were declared calamity-hit. Similar directions were given, but it did not happen and this year the number of affected villages went up, adding to the previously unattended backlog.

The questions then arise: Is relief distribution the best method available to deal with calamities? What do we mean by “calamity”, and can we not do away with the “relief trap” and look for more sustainable and cost-effective methods of coping with calamity? These questions perhaps can never make inroads into the framework of policy-makers and project planners as it requires time to plan; political expediency does not allow this luxury. Relief then becomes the instant “recipe” to deal with all calamities. 

Our policy reaction to disasters in Pakistan remains largely focused on “emergency management”, as it looks at disasters as isolated events, which have nothing to do with general societal conditions. In every annual federal budget, a huge amount of money is allocated under “contingency”, meant to deal with calamities and disasters. Knowing that flooding is an annual feature and drought has become a recurring phenomenon, we still insist on treating them as “unanticipated contingencies”, and deliver relief goods to the needy, victimized and affected. This may amply gratify governing instincts, but does not satisfy the needs of communities and villages at risk. Relief can be the easy answer to calamities, but it is neither the only nor sufficient answer.

The government’s policies towards disasters are reactive and relief-driven instead of pre-emptive and preventive. Floods and droughts have become seasonal features, and village communities are tied intricately to these climatic fluctuations. They cannot be termed “contingencies”, but are part of seasonality. They are linked with processes of development and issues of entitlement in socioeconomic structures. The “recipe” for these calamities and disasters is not relief. The answer, perhaps, lies with a shift in paradigm: preparedness and prevention of disasters should be given priority over reaction and relief. The policy bias of “emergency management” has to be replaced with a pro-active “risk management” paradigm. In plain words: pour the relief money into preparedness and save lives, land and livelihoods. 

Amjad Bhatti is an Islamabad-based development journalist working as Principal Coordinator with the Rural Development Policy Institute (RDPI). He can be contacted at jrc@isb.sdnpk.org