KP Govt launches Pakistan’s first sub-national disaster risk reduction policy

PESHAWAR, Aug 17 (APP): The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa officially launched Pakistan’s first-ever sub-national Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Policy at a high-level ceremony held at the Chief Minister House, Peshawar, marking a major step toward building a more resilient, climate-adaptive, and risk-informed province.

The event was jointly organized by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and the Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement Department, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while the policy was developed with support from the German Government through the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The launching ceremony brought together senior government officials, development partners, diplomats, humanitarian organizations, academia, civil society representatives, and media professionals.

Addressing the gathering on behalf of the Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Minister for Information and Public Relations, Shafi Ullah Jan described the launch as a critical milestone in our provincial history, emphasizing that the policy represents more than a policy document.

“This is not merely a document, but our government’s solemn commitment to safeguarding the lives and properties of our 40 million citizens. We are now transitioning away from this reactive relief culture and advancing toward a culture of proactive preparedness, using scientific methods to anticipate risks and systematically mitigate their impacts before disasters strike,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the German Ambassador to Pakistan, H.E. Ina Lepel, Head of Cooperation at the German Embassy, Dr. Mirjam Büdenbender-Buchholz, congratulated the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and PDMA on developing Pakistan’s first provincial Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) policy, reaffirming Germany’s commitment to supporting a more disaster-resilient province.

She described the policy as a significant achievement that reflected leadership and readiness to invest in the future. She noted that disaster risk was building over time, driven by factors including population growth, informal settlement expansion, insufficient land-use planning and deforestation. She emphasized that Disaster Risk Reduction was about reducing the likelihood and the impact of hazardous events in the first place.

The five-year policy framework focused on prevention and preparedness through early warning, risk-informed development, community resilience, disaster risk financing and Adaptive Social Protection, with a particular emphasis on protecting vulnerable households from climate and disaster shocks.

The Chief Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa emphasized that disaster management must now be treated as an integral part of governance and development.

“Disaster management is no longer an additional or secondary function of the state,” he said, describing it as a fundamental basis of sustainable governance and “fiscal responsibility.”

The Head of Programme Adaptive Social Protection at GIZ Pakistan, Johanna Knoess, highlighted the practical significance of linking disaster risk management with social protection.

She explained that the integration allowed vulnerability to be understood from more than one perspective that not only who was poor and not only who was exposed but where do both overlap.

The Secretary of the Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement Department described the launch as the commencement of the implementation phase of the policy, emphasizing that its success would depend on sustained collaboration across government departments and stakeholders.

The launch concluded with a renewed commitment by the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its partners to translate the policy into concrete action and build a Resilient Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where disaster risk reduction, preparedness, inclusive development, and social protection were embedded in the province’s governance and development systems.