World Bank flags Pakistan’s high vulnerability to natural disasters

September 02, 2025 (MLN): Pakistan has remained highly vulnerable to natural disasters, including earthquakes, floods, landslides, and water scarcity which have continued to undermined its infrastructure and endangered the welfare of its people, a recent World Bank report revealed.

The report, titled “Evidence-based Targeting of Infrastructure Investments: A Model for Accessibility to Services in Pakistan’s Rural Communities,” ranks Pakistan fifth among the countries most affected by extreme weather events driven by climate change.

It also stresses the urgent need for resilient infrastructure and smarter investment strategies to protect rural communities.

Highlighting weaknesses in Pakistan’s road management, the World Bank noted that road maintenance budgets are still largely based on subjective visual inspections, leaving them vulnerable to political influence.

Insufficient revenue from tolls and rights-of-way (RoW) has further strained resources, forcing road agencies to depend on shrinking public-sector development budgets.

The report warns that Pakistan’s economy remains highly exposed to natural disasters, with floods posing the greatest threat.

The catastrophic 2022 floods, among the worst in the country’s history, submerged one-third of the country, affected 33 million people, displaced 8 million, and destroyed 2.2m houses alongside 13,000 kilometers of roads.

Reconstruction efforts in the aftermath revealed the urgent need for a multi-sectoral prioritization tool to guide infrastructure development.

Road transport dominates Pakistan’s transportation landscape, accounting for 95% of both passenger and freight traffic.

However, this reliance has overburdened road networks, particularly at the provincial level.

Despite network expansion, the quality of provincial roads remains poor due to funding shortages and outdated asset management practices.

Provinces typically allocate only 20% to 30% of the necessary maintenance budget, leaving the road network vulnerable to further decay.

The World Bank stressed that accessibility to essential services remains deeply unequal, with rural communities, making up 62% of the population, facing significant disadvantages due to geography, inadequate road infrastructure, and poor conditions.

These disparities restrict access to schools, healthcare, markets, and other basic services.

To address these challenges, the report called for evidence-based infrastructure investments focused on strengthening rural road networks, modernizing engineering standards, and embedding climate resilience in design and maintenance.

Such measures, it argued, are crucial for alleviating poverty, building human capital, and improving long-term development outcomes.

Concluding its assessment, the World Bank emphasized that Pakistan needs a comprehensive and strategic approach to infrastructure planning.

By closing accessibility gaps and prioritizing underserved regions, the country can lay the foundation for a more equitable and climate-resilient future.

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