Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) inaugurated a two day provincial consultative workshop on Disaster Risk reduction in Multan.

Provincial Minister of Disaster Management Mr. Maher Ijaz Achlana inaugurated the workshop which is being held between February 13-14 in Multan. Various public sector stakeholders also attended the inaugural session.

Under the DFID funded Building Disaster Resilience in Pakistan (BDRP) programme, FAO together with UNDP, WFP and with consortium partner Concern Worldwide and WWH will work to improve resilience of crisis-affected communities through risk assessment, planning, mitigation, preparedness measures and emergency response.

This inception workshop provides an opportunity for all stakeholders to come together and share their experiences and knowledge and highlight the exact needs of the communities.

Provincial minister Mr. Maher Ijaz Achlana reiterating the government’s support for the successful implementation of BDRP in Punjab said: “In Pakistan, agriculture is one of the sectors that is most affected by natural disasters. There is a growing need to understand and mitigate risks in this hazard prone country. Disasters most adversely impact the poorest households and a large percentage of these are involved in the agriculture sector, hence the impact of disasters on the poor is devastating.
The workshop was attended by provincial and district government officials along with representatives of the community. Mr. Razi Latif, Advisor Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction from DFID and Mr. Francisco Gammaro, Deputy FAO Representative were also present on the occasion.