NDM Act 2010 Amended To Cover Women And Children In Catastrophes

The Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change unanimously amended the National Disaster Management (NDM) Act 2010 to make the law more comprehensive and gender responsive focusing women and children besides appropriate financial allocations for disaster tackling.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Sep, 2018 ) :The Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change unanimously amended the National Disaster Management (NDM) Act 2010 to make the law more comprehensive and gender responsive focusing women and children besides appropriate financial allocations for disaster tackling.

According to details Senator Mian Ateeq Shaikh had moved the motion in 2017 to conduct amendments in the bill as the devastating flash floods of 2010 rendered unprecedented human life and material losses in parts of the country. The floods of 2011 further aggravated the situation to an alarming level, adding the available funds and aid goods were not properly utilized due to various administrative bottlenecks and lack of proper accountability mechanism.

Mian Ateeq in his recommendations maintained that the amendment was necessary to develop state-of-the-art institutional disaster management structure at all administrative levels. "NDMA has to undergo a paradigm shift focusing on human rights based approach in general and women rights in particular", he elaborated.

Mian believed that there was a need to renew our commitment to set up our efforts for the rehabilitation of flood affectees with special reference to women and children who were more vulnerable to these catastrophic situations.

Similarly,the recommendations also add the holding of meetings of National Disaster Commission at least once in a year in order to monitor its important role at national, provincial and district policy level and forward its valuable feedback in this regard.

"The meetings are significant in order to mainstream Disaster Risk Reduction (DDR) at local level and attempt to harmonize local government laws with the Disaster Management Act", he added.

The bill was amended as introduced in the Senate by the committee with the changes as "to set up efforts for the rehabilitation of disaster affectees with special reference to women and children, especially the provision of shelter and livelihood support to be extended to landless rural women".

The other amendment approved was to ensure the restoration of livelihood through provision of all economic inputs by introducing comprehensive rehabilitation packages".

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) agreed and ensured the incorporation of amendment in NDMA Act 2010 supported by Secretary Climate Change. The amended act is known to be as National Disaster Management (Amendment) Act, 2017.