ISLAMABAD, Feb 10: The Natural Disaster Management Authority and 13 UN agencies are working together to develop a programme to address the needs of disaster risk management in Pakistan during 2009-2010 at a cost of around $66.359 million.

Shaukat N. Tahir, senior member of the NDMA and UNDP’s country director Mikiko Tanaka and WFP Representative Wolfgang Herbinger signed the United Nations Pakistan Joint Programme Document here on Tuesday.

The programme will assist the government in developing national capacities and systems for disaster risk management on a sustainable basis.

It will reduce the impact of disasters on the poor and most vulnerable segments of population and strengthen national and local level community capacities to enable them to timely respond to disasters and contribute to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.

The programme will also address disasters resulting from communicable diseases and food shortages and the NDMA and the UN would work with relevant government departments at federal, provincial and district levels.

The participating UN agencies are Food and Agriculture Organisation, International Labour Organisation, International Organisation for Migration, UNAIDS, UNDP, Unesco,

UN Development Fund for Women, UNFPA, UN-Habitat, UN High Commission for Refugees, Unicef, World Health Organisation and World Food Programme.