The Nation
(Nairobi)
NEWS
April 18, 2007
Posted to the web April 17, 2007
By Nairobi, Tuesday
Nairobi
A model for re-building lives, environments and livelihoods after the
devastating South Asian earthquake in 2005 has been profiled by the Aga
Khan Development Network.
The event took place at the just concluded first stakeholders' forum
of the Business Partnership for Sustainable Urbanisation organised by
UN-Habitat.
Official figures suggest that 75,000 people lost their lives in the
quake that destroyed cities, towns, villages and remote settlements
across mountainous regions of India and Pakistan.
The AKDN's Multi-Input Earthquake Reconstruction Programme in
Kashmir was presented at the Forum as an approach to address challenges
facing the urban poor in the aftermath of natural disaster.
"Investments targeted at rehabilitation are best sustained if they
are supported by a holistic, multi-sectoral approach which is
complemented by an area development focus." said Mr Hafiz Sherali,
Chairman Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan, presenting
the model in a session entitled Cross Cutting Challenge: Financing
Partnerships.
"Effective responses," he noted, "must go beyond risk assessment,
home reconstruction, integrated water supply and management and mobile
health clinics, to community-based risk management, infrastructure
financing, enterprise development and microfinance."
Mr Arif Neky, East African Regional Chief Executive Officer, Aga
Khan Foundation, highlighted the opportunity this approach offered for
collaboration between governments, the private sector and civil
society, noting that "ideally, corporate social responsibility would
entail research into regionally appropriate building products and
technologies, and investments in seismically vulnerable areas before
disaster strikes."
Ms Jaana Mioch, Disaster Management Specialist at UN-HABITAT
Headquarters endorsed the approach that truly sustainable
rehabilitation requires multi-sectoral inputs including critical
elements of economic recovery.
Ismailimail 