How to Be Fair in Prioritizing Support in the Aftermath of Disasters: Pakistan's Housing Reconstruction Challenges Following the 2010 Flood Disaster

Abstract

In 2010, Pakistan was hit by the worst flood in the century. A total of 1.6 million homes were damaged and 0.9 million utterly destroyed or washed away (World Bank, 2010), meaning that more than 5 million people were left homeless. This is equivalent to a quarter of the Australian population. The task of rebuilding was, and always is, a formidable one for cash-constrained developing countries like Pakistan. This holds both for individual households who have lost their home and for the government that might wish to help them. Because resources and funding are limited, government must set priorities and often make hard choices. If help is to be offered to the victims, what is to be rebuilt first and what later? Who is to be helped first and whom later? Should the amount of help differ between victims and if so, how?