ABSTRACT
Introduction In the summer of 2010, Pakistan was hit by the worst floods in its history. The floods directly affected 160,000 square kilometers of land area (20% of the total area) along the Indus river and its tributaries, and displaced around 20 million people (11% of the total population of 173 million in 2011: World Bank 2010b). Crop loss was estimated at US$ 500 million, with indirect losses as high as US$ 43 billion (26% of 2010 GDP, World Bank 2010b). The agrarian region around the Indus river, where low-income groups rely on subsistence farming, faced food shortages and rising food prices immediately after the floods. With minimal savings, virtually non-existent social safety nets, and a slow government response, a large proportion of the displaced population suffered secondary effects of the natural disaster, including food insecurity, starvation, and poor health conditions (World Bank 2010b). Despite international aid flows of around US$ 1.52 billion (UN-OCHA 2014), the lack of on-the-ground coordination, disruption of the food supply network, and poor understanding of shock transmission through population displacement resulted in an ineffective policy response.
