Lessons from COVID-19 should be replicated to recover from floods losses: Dr Vaqar.

ISLAMABAD -- The Lessons on the recovery of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) from the unprecedented challenge of COVID-19 should be replicated and modified to strengthen response and recovery from large-scale loss incurred during current floods, Joint Executive Director, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Dr. Vaqar Ahmed.

He was speaking at the launch of a study on titled: 'Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises amid Disaster: Lessons from Pakistan's Experience'.

The research conducted jointly by SDPI and International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is based on 750 firms across the country with special focus on women-owned and women-led firms. Among other factors, the study highlighted the impacts of supply chain and transmission disruption, resilience to bounce back, and efficacy of government interventions.

Dr Vaqar said that the study revealed that at the initial stages of crisis, there was a decrease in import-export, production and short-term consumption patterns along with liquidity squeeze and decline in capital and investment, which...