Pakistan is one of the world's most hazard-prone countries, with each humanitarian crisis costing lives and money and deepening the alarming levels of poverty and malnutrition. Pakistan's 2012 flood emergency left hundreds of thousands of people needing help to meet their basic needs, including clean water, food, shelter, health and medical services, sanitation facilities, and cash to buy other essentials.

This joint-agency briefing shows how, although most flood-affected people returned to their communities after floodwaters finally receded, many of them found their homes damaged or destroyed. Many farming families missed the winter sowing season because of prolonged flooding, depriving them of their usual food and income sources.

The agencies call on donors to back the Pakistani authorities to build on recent progress and accelerate efforts to prepare the country more effectively for future disasters, taking climate change into account.