Pakistan’s efforts aimed at achieving fast growth, development and progress are increasingly being undermined by the impact of a variety of disasters, both natural and human induced. The private/industrial sector of Pakistan was no exception and was significantly affected by increased exposure to disaster risks. Strong public-private partnerships and establishment of a platform to increase interface between government and private sector is imperative in igniting momentum for building business resilience. To capture the significance of public-private partnerships, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and National Humanitarian Network (NHN) with Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) organized a workshop titled ‘Role of Private Sector in Preparedness for Effective Response’ on 18th July 2018 at Islamabad.
Attended by 48 officials representing private sector, government departments, local NGOs, academia and International NGOs, the targeted workshop created an enabling environment and momentum for working towards business resilience. Experts from the government sector joined as panelists to augment private sector engagement in the overall humanitarian response structure of the country.
Presiding over as chief guests from National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)- Brig. Mukhtar Ahmad, Member (Operations) and Mr. Karim Aziz Malik, Vice President from Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI), the inaugural session was attended by Acting Chairperson from National Humanitarian Network (NHN), members of Central Executive Committee (CEC), NHN and representatives from FPCCI, NDMA.
The initiative is a being implemented under the Asian Preparedness Partnership (APP) and Pakistan Resilience Partnership (PRP) formed at country level with support from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The workshop sessions addressed various subjects on disaster risk and key policy frameworks, key roles & responsibilities stakeholders, disaster recovery by building resilience in business supply chain, country specific DRR agenda and private sector contribution for developing institutional partnerships for disaster mitigation.
