The Sindh Flood Emergency Housing Reconstruction Project is getting an extra $450 million from the World Bank to make resilient housing construction possible for affected people according to the World Bank. This additional financing is an augmentation of the $500 million original project approved in December 2024 and has enabled almost 410,000 core housing units to be reconstructed.
The balance funds will be used to continue this program, supplementing at least 360,000 new eligible beneficiaries and providing at least another 30,000 with safely managed WASH facilities. According to Najy Benhassine, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan, resilience will have to be built regarding natural and climatic shocks for the most vulnerable sections.
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The project will focus on the most vulnerable households, especially single or widowed women, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and the ultra-poor. It will seek community engagement and create avenues for financial inclusion to actively involve such beneficiaries in the management of housing construction activities.. Grant up to PKR 50,000 toward housing improvements will be made available for eligible beneficiaries and will ensure accessibility and specific disability need considerations.
As said by Kamran Akbar, Task Team Leader of the project, this additional financing is intended to extend the benefits of the parent project and include training of masons with multi-hazard housing reconstruction standards, boosting the local economy and empowering the vulnerable population by providing safe shelter and activities linked to the community.
This project has been supported by GFDRR in post-disaster needs assessments, guidelines on geo-enabled management systems, and technical assistance for resilient recovery and climate adaptation in the province of Sindh.