Towards a Resilient Education Recovery from Pakistan's Floods (Policy Brief)

The 2022 floods struck hardest in regions where enrolment was already lowest—nearly half of children aged 5–16 in Sindh and Balochistan were out of school before the waters rose. This policy brief draws on global and Pakistani evidence to show how emergencies can disrupt children’s education for years without deliberate intervention, and how girls in particular face heightened risks of domestic labour and early marriage. It makes the case for multidimensional, gender-aware education recovery.

Key highlights/findings

Rebuilding schools hasn’t stopped dropouts or protected learning. Past flood recovery focused on buildings, not children.

Many schools flooded in 2010 and 2011 were rebuilt in the same spots, then flooded again in 2022.

There’s no remedial plan. Children lose years of learning with no system to help them catch up.

Recovery talks about marginalised children but rarely turns that language into real programmes.