POST COVID -19: MORE ECONOMIC FEAR FOR POOR BALOCHISTAN.

Byline: SYED FAZL-E-HAIDER

The poverty level mounts in Balochistan, as the province reels under the lockdown measures to fi-ght coronavirus pandemic. Present PTI government of Prime Minister Imran Khan must take steps for supporting the poor, reducing their vulnerability and recovering from disasters and pandemics like the current one COVID-19. The government should also create conditions for the development of insurance markets, encourage the use of other risk-spreading A!financial instruments and design economic and regulatory incentives for risk reduction behavior.

Steps need to be taken to stimulate coordinated actions and to mobilize regional resources for investments in risk mitigation. Balochistan is the least developed province and hence more vulnerable. It has been observed that poor households and communities are more vulnerable to natural hazards, as they take a long period to recover from the deadly e ects of disasters and pandemics.

Poorly planned development can turn a recurring natural phenomenon into a human and economic disaster. What transforms a natural event into a human and economic disaster? The fundamental problems of development that a region faces are the very same problems that contribute to its vulnerability to the catastrophic e ects of natural hazards and pandemics. The principal causes of vulnerability in the region include the persistence of widespread urban and rural poverty, the degradation of the region's environment resulting from the mismanagement of natural resources, inefficient public policies, and lagging and misguided investments in infrastructure.

Despite the current COVID-19 pandemic, Balochistan has been reeling under the devastating impacts of natural calamities like drought, ash oods and heavy rains for the past many years. It is because of geographical formations and unique geological features of the province that it is more prone to natural disasters, such as foods, droughts, cyclones, and earthquakes. Balochistan has four geological regions - the Central Mountain Ranges, Chaghi Hills and Raskoh Ranges, Makran Mountain Ranges and the Kharan Basin. There are many areas in northern Balochistan including Quetta, which are located in active seismic zone. Quetta earthquake of 1935 was the deadliest with 35,000 fatalities. It devastated Quetta and the adjoining areas.

The pandemic-hit Balochistan is the poorest of all provinces with standards of living lagging substantially behind the rest of the...

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