Microfinance's Crucial Role in Helping Victims of a Natural Calamity

Abstract

This study aimed to examine microfinance's role in providing essential services to economically disadvantaged people in the aftermath of natural disasters. A study of 300 people who use microfinance was carried out in the tehsil of Taunsa, located in the district of Dera Ghazi Khan. In 2022, information was gathered from microfinance institution customers impacted by flooding. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not microfinance helped them meet their basic needs during the natural disaster. The data was analyzed using the 21st edition of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The most important findings from this study were that most microfinance users were men; however, slightly more than one-third of microfinance users were females. This is an important finding because, in a natural disaster, financial assistance is provided to female-headed families so their basic needs can be met. The vast majority of those polled owned their homes, most of which were flooded. The findings of this study suggested that neither the government nor microfinance institutions provide significant assistance to disaster victims in their efforts to recover. According to preliminary findings from this study, low-income families facing difficult circumstances during or after a disaster are more likely to rely on themselves and the coping mechanisms provided by their communities than on any public or private assistance. According to the findings, policy interventions aimed at reducing flood losses and assisting improvement should consider the shifting risk profile that impoverished people face when it comes to natural disasters.