Flooding Costs Pakistan 1.5 percent of GDP

Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture, has said the devastating floods that caused severe losses to the economy and destroyed over three million bales of cotton will result in a cumulative loss of about 1.5 percent to the nation’s overall GDP. Approximately 2.4 million hectares were washed away by floods and the country has not yet been able to rebuild its damaged irrigation systems.

While there has been some support from the international community, Gondal said it has been much less than what will be required to complete the rebuilding process. To get through the crisis, Pakistan’s government distributed Visa debit cards to approximately 1.6 million families, each loaded with $235. Additional funding of up to $950 per Watan card (Watan means “nation” or “country” in Urdu) will be provided in coming months.

The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA)’s distribution of Watan cards has helped some of the hardest-hit families survive the crisis, but their future prospects won’t improve significantly until the country’s infrastructure is rebuilt and gainful employment becomes available.