Pakistan needs $348 billion over next 7 years to tackle development, climate challenges – World Bank

ISLAMABAD (Report By M.Saleem jutt.  Pakistan will require $348 billion over the next seven years to meet its development needs and confront escalating climate-related challenges, the World Bank said in a new assessment, underscoring the country’s acute vulnerability to natural disasters.

The warning comes as Pakistan reels from another wave of flooding across Punjab, recalling the devastation of the 2022 super floods, when international donors pledged $10.9 billion in aid at a Geneva conference. However, Islamabad has so far managed to secure only 20% of that commitment, according to the Bank.

The Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) conducted after the 2022 floods estimated total damages at $14.9 billion and recovery requirements at $16.3 billion. Based on this, Pakistan presented the Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Framework (4RF) in Geneva, where donors promised around $11 billion for a multi-year rebuilding plan.

Yet, progress has been slow. Less than one-fifth of the promised funding has been disbursed in the three years since, leaving millions of displaced families, destroyed farmlands, and ruined villages across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and now Punjab as reminders of the country’s climate fragility.

The 4RF framework divided recovery priorities into four Strategic Recovery Objectives (SROs):

SRO-1 (Governance, climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction): $413.5 million

SRO-2 (Agriculture, livelihoods, trade, industry, tourism): $4.35 billion

SRO-3 (Social inclusion, gender equality, culture and heritage): $1.05 billion

SRO-4 (Education, health, water, sanitation, local services, infrastructure, energy, transport, irrigation, and digital systems): $10.48 billion

Analysts note a serious imbalance in the distribution of funds, with key sectors such as infrastructure, health, and water management underfunded relative to the scale of need.

The World Bank cautioned that unless Pakistan mobilizes both domestic reforms and international financing, the country risks being locked in a cycle of repeated disasters and underdevelopment.