- Project of rebuilding of houses in Nazar Muhammad Laghari village completed under SPHF
SHAHEED BENAZIRABAD: First Lady Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, along with the World Bank team and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, on Friday visited a flood rehabilitation housing project in Sindh’s Shaheed Benazirabad district, where she handed over ownership right certificates to women homeowners.
The WB officials included its managing director, Anna Bejerde and country director, Najy Benhassine along with Sindh CM Syed Murad Ali Shah visited the flood rehabilitation housing project in Nazar Muhammad Laghari village in Shaheed Benazirabad district.
This project, under the Sindh Peoples Housing for Flood Affected (SPHF) program, aims at rebuilding homes destroyed by the 2022 devastating floods.
First Lady @AseefaBZ & Sindh CM @MuradAliShahPPP , along with #WorldBank MD Anna Bjerde, visited flood-affected Nazr Muhammad Laghari Goth. Ownership certificates of newly built homes were handed to women, part of largest women-led housing initiative. pic.twitter.com/QDsIu2vPb5
— Sindh Chief Minister House (@SindhCMHouse) May 23, 2025
During the visit, MNA Aseefa Bhutto and WB MD Anna Bejerde distributed ownership rights documents to women homeowners and met with female members of the Village Reconstruction Committee (VRC), who showcased their handicraft work.
The committee briefed that 32 homes were destroyed in the village, which have been rebuilt now.
Anna Bejerde reaffirmed the WB’s commitment to supporting the Sindh government in flood recovery efforts, praising the resilience of the local people and the leadership’s dedication. She emphasized that sustainable community-level rehabilitation is achievable despite climate change challenges.
First Lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari highlighted that granting women ownership rights under the SPHF project is a historic socio-economic empowerment initiative by the Sindh government, significantly benefiting rural women.
The Sindh chief minister noted that over 2.4 million homes were destroyed in the 2022 floods, adding the Bank initially provided $500 million to kickstart the recovery, later increasing funding by $450 million over two years.
CM Murad said this assistance helped construct 778,000 homes and allocate $54.92 million for water, sanitation, and hygiene, benefitting 66,691 families in 1,000 villages.
SPHF CEO Khalid Mahmood Sheikh briefed that in Shaheed Benazirabad alone, 104,822 homes were destroyed; about 60,000 are under construction while nearly 40,000 are completed.
Across Sindh, over 111,000 disabled persons are receiving accessible homes, and more than 800,000 women have opened bank accounts for the first time, promoting financial inclusion.
The program has provided safe shelter to over 6 million people and created more than 1 million new jobs.
This visit underscores the ongoing collaboration between the World Bank and Sindh government to restore livelihoods and empower vulnerable communities affected by climate-induced disasters.
Earlier this month, Aseefa distributed ownership documents of houses to flood-hit people in Mirza Farrukh Baig village of Daur taluka.
Accompanied by Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, she visited the village and met womenfolk of the flood-hit families. She sat with some of the families in their newly-built houses and inquired about their problems.
Aseefa distributed ownership documents of the houses among female beneficiaries of the free residential project. The women apprised her of their issues which she assured that would be resolved.
