Original Research

Inter-agency collaboration and disaster management: A case study of the 2005 earthquake disaster in Pakistan

Ikram Shah, Tahir Mahmood, Sajjad A. Khan, Noor Elahi, Muhammad Shahnawaz, Adnan A. Dogar, Fazli Subhan, Khoula Begum
Jàmbá: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies | Vol 14, No 1 | a1088 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/jamba.v14i1.1088 | © 2022 Ikram Shah, Tahir Mahmood, Sajjad A. Khan, Noor Elahi, Muhammad Shahnawaz, Adnan A. Dogar, Fazli Subhan, Khoula Begum | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 02 January 2021 | Published: 27 January 2022

About the author(s)

Ikram Shah, Department of Development Studies, Faculty of Humanities, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbotttabad Campus, Pakistan
Tahir Mahmood, Department of Rural Development and Sociology, Karakorum International University, Daimir-Chilas Campus, Pakistan
Sajjad A. Khan, Department of International Relations, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan
Noor Elahi, Department of Development Studies, Faculty of Humanities, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbotttabad Campus
Muhammad Shahnawaz, Advanced Research Centre, Karakorum International University, Daimir-Chilas Campus, Pakistan
Adnan A. Dogar, Department of Development Studies, Faculty of Humanities, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbotttabad Campus, Pakistan
Fazli Subhan, Lasoona Project funded by Deutsche Welthungerhilfe, District Shangla, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan
Khoula Begum, Department of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Karakorum International University, Daimir-Chilas Campus, Pakistan

Abstract

In post disastrous situations, coordinated and integrated interventions aimed at relief and rehabilitation not only help facilitate reaching out to the affected communities in a timely fashion but also pave the way to channel scarce and valued resources towards end users in an efficient and effective manner. This article attempts to trace the origins and gradual development of ‘inter-agency collaboration’ and the implications thereof for disaster management strategies in Pakistan through an analysis of relief and rehabilitation interventions undertaken by the Government of Pakistan in collaboration with local and international Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) and relief agencies in the ex post of the 2005 earthquake. Data for this study were collected through structured and semi-structured interviews from government officials, representatives of NGOs and relief agencies and ordinary women and men in the earthquake stricken localities of Balakot and Mansehra districts of Pakistan. On the heels of the 2005 earthquake, both local NGOs and faith-based organisations in concert with international NGOs and relief agencies from around the world rushed to assist Pakistan in it’s rescue and relief operations at a time when the country was faced with the twin dilemma of both the non-existence of peculiar institutional arrangements for disaster management and a lack of the necessary technical and financial resources. The aftermath of the 2005 earthquake offered opportunity to the Government of Pakistan and the NGOs and relief agencies alike to transform their individual interventions into a robust and organised ‘inter-agency collaboration’, which was later on realised in the form of establishment of a national disaster management organisation called the ‘Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA)’. The establishment of ERRA not only paved the way for avoiding duplication and wastage of resources but also ensued in reaching out to the affected communities in a timely fashion. The Pakistani case offers implications in terms of highlighting the salience of establishing ‘inter-agency collaboration’ in other settings.

Keywords

disaster; disaster management; 2005 earthquake; inter-agency collaboration; ERRA; Pakistan

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