Aid Effectiveness and Multiplicity of Actors: the 2005 Kashmir Earthquake in Pakistan and Implications of Aid Fragmentation

Abstract

The 2005 Kashmir earthquake in Pakistan was a mega natural disaster that caused massive human and financial cost in eight districts across the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). The calamity claimed over 74,000 lives while the affected area incurred a loss of over US$ 5 billion as public and private infrastructure was damaged extensively. Given the magnitude of the disaster, the international community displayed a speedy and generous response. In the rescue, relief and rehabilitation process, over 100 bilateral and multilateral agencies assisted. Based on the analysis of primary data collected during field visits complemented with secondary data, this paper illustrates that although there were numerous actors involved in the rehabilitation and reconstruction; aid coordination and harmonisation was a huge challenge. A well-coordinated framework regarding how to provide humanitarian assistance as well as food and non-food items in an efficient and speedy manner was clearly not visible. Due to uncoordinated and fragmented approach, multiple donors were engaged in similar activities resulting in duplication and overlap of aid, which ultimately led to aid ineffectiveness. Due to this, even after a passage of over two decades, the reconstruction process is still incomplete as many education and health facilities are yet to be rebuilt.