Asian Development Bank approves $500m loan to help Pakistan strengthen disaster preparedness

ISLAMABAD BUREAU —ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday approved contingent disaster financing (CDF) facilities up to $500 million for Pakistan to withstand disasters and facilitate disaster response. In a statement, the Manila-based lending agency said the funds will provide prompt budget support following eligible disaster events to help reduce the resulting economic and fiscal impacts. “Floods, earthquakes, and other disasters cause Pakistan an estimated $2 billion in annual average losses,” ADB noted, further recalling, “2022 floods alone caused $14.9bn in direct damage and $15.2bn in economic losses, pushing as many as $9.1m people into poverty.” “Poor and rural communities have less capacity to recover, while women and girls are disproportionately affected.” The lending agency said that, to reduce the impact of future disasters, the second subprogram of the Climate and Disaster Resilience Enhancement Programme supported reforms to strengthen disaster preparedness and risk management and to integrate resilience measures into Pakistan’s development planning and investment. “The programme also strengthens Pakistan’s disaster risk financing framework and improves the availability of financing following disaster events,” the statement added. “When disaster strikes, it is often the most vulnerable communities that are hit hardest.

Investing in preparedness can help protect lives and livelihoods, reduce economic losses, and safeguard the development gains Pakistan has worked hard to achieve,” ADB Country Director for Pakistan Emma Fan was quoted as saying. “This programme will support the country in implementing critical reforms to ensure a more resilient future.” It added that the programme was in accordance with “Pakistan’s priorities for managing disaster risks and with ADB’s commitment to supporting resilience initiatives across Asia and the Pacific.” In 2024, ADB had also approved a $500m policy-based loan to support climate change and disaster risk reduction and resilience in Pakistan.

In May, a report compiled by the think tank Jinnah Institute highlighted that persistent governance failures and weak community-level systems continued to undermine Pakistan’s ability to prepare for and respond to climate disasters and called for urgent reforms to build long-term resilience across vulnerable districts.

The findings came in the wake of devastating 2025 floods, which submerged entire districts, displaced millions, and wiped out livelihoods, exposing critical gaps in preparedness despite years of policy frameworks, institutional reforms, and international commitments. The report argued that reliance on reactive disaster management has proven insufficient in the face of intensifying climate stress.