Poverty Alleviation Fund changing the lives of poor: World Bank
FAISALABAD (January 12 2008): Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) is making a difference in the life of the poor in the country and 1.5 million micro-credit loans (average loan-size US $150) have been provided benefiting nearly 9 million people, said updated World Bank report.
World Bank observed that the PPAF programme is impacting over 10 million people. PPAF has mobilised over 66,000 community organisations (COs) in 27,000 localities across 111 districts in the country. Mobilised communities are helping themselves and accessing services from civil society, government and markets.
According to a World Bank report, over the last 7 years PPAF has driven the micro-finance sector growth from 60,000 borrowers to more than 1.25 million active borrowers in the sector, while "Skill Development and Capacity-building" also improving. Over 200,000 people trained by PPAF in various skills including management, financial, mechanical and technical skills, water conservation, agriculture, horticulture, livestock, and marketing etc, said report.
The report disclosed that more than 13,000 small scale village-based projects have been identified, constructed and maintained by communities right across the country benefiting nearly 6 million people. These projects mainly include drinking water supply schemes, drainage and sanitation, irrigation, roads, culverts and small bridges. PPAF is also doing more innovative schemes that include: Integrated Areas Up-gradation Projects, Drought Mitigation Projects and Technological Innovative Projects, including Reverse Osmoses Plants, Drip Irrigation, and Solar Energy etc. Besides providing social benefits and improving the rural environment these projects have saved significant amounts in health related expenses in addition to providing job opportunities for local communities, WB report mentioned.
WB observed that PPAF supported projects are labour intensive and have generated significant amounts in wages. Health and Education (a recent pilot intervention): nearly 100 new education and health facilities opened by PPAF in the rural areas providing high quality services and benefiting primarily women and girls.
Commenting over the "Earthquake Restoration and Rehabilitation", WB report said that over 100,000 houses and 300 schemes are being reconstructed in the earthquake affected areas, with a special focus on the vulnerable, and disabled. Nearly 20,000 people trained in earthquake resistant construction methods, directly resulting in over 70percent compliance with earthquake standards for all houses under construction. PPAF is also regularly involved in relief work, including for the earthquake victims and more recently the flood affected; and has also initiated a special programme for the fragile coastal areas.
PPAF's institutional mechanism is seen as a best practice public-private partnership model; with its solid governance structure, private sector management and transparent funding mechanism and is being replicated in other Government programmes that are trying to deliver services to the poor. These replications range from education delivery in Balochistan, to rural telecom services across the country. Social Mobilisation has been mainstreamed in public policy and is now part of the poverty reduction policy and the Mid-term Development Framework of the Government.
PPAF has moved beyond being just a project and is now considered the private sector arm of the government's poverty alleviation agenda. The massive earthquake reconstruction work that the Government has assigned speaks of the trust and confidence that it has in the institution.
WB observed that PPAF's investment in civil society (it has 70 civil society partners across the country) has resulted in a new found confidence and greatly enhanced capacities and capabilities of the sector to do much more for the poor. It has also enabled them to leverage support from provincial and local governments; commercial banks and other donor.
Investing in building institutions of the poor that are inclusiveness; participatory; and well governed has high pay-off; for it builds their confidence and social capital, gives them voice and empowers them to participate as active and informed citizens in the development and political process. It ensures better provision of services and delivers far more profound and sustainable development outcomes.
PPAF's long term strategy is to cover all the villages and hamlets in the poorest districts of Pakistan through a comprehensive range of activities. There will be a major effort to build institutions of the poor in these districts, build their capacity and provide occupational skills training leading to exponential growth of micro-enterprises and meeting the key infrastructure needs of these villages, said WB report.
WB report stated that the key challenges ahead include: ensuring that the institutions of the poor continue to be underpinned by the core values of inclusiveness, participation and good governance; the outreach of micro-credit in a potentially huge market; continuing support of the government and donors to this pro-poor agenda and meeting the expectations and galloping demands of the poor; and linking in a more meaningful and productive manner to the local, provincial and federal government structures and programmes.
According to WB report, poverty remains a serious concern in Pakistan, particularly in its rural areas. Inadequate access to basic services and financial and other resources; weaker communities, particularly the exclusion of women from the public sphere and the development process; low social capital; ethnic and religious strife; a spate of natural calamities in recent years; have all contributed towards the persistence of poverty in the country.
The World Bank funded Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund Project (PPAF) is designed to reduce poverty and empower the rural and urban poor in Pakistan through the provision of resources and services to the poor, especially women. This is being achieved through an integrated approach that includes building institutions of the poor and then providing them with micro-credit loans; grants for small scale infrastructure projects; training and skill development and social sector interventions. PPAF has also contributed significantly in rebuilding lives, fostering resilience and restoring assets of the poor who have suffered from the earthquake and drought.
The PPAF programme is impacting over 10 million people. PPAF has mobilised over 66,000 community organisations (COs) in 27,000 localities across 111 districts in the country. Mobilised communities are helping themselves and accessing services from civil society, government and markets. PPAF's investment in building institutions of the poor, that gives voice, empowerment and nurtures social capital and trust amongst communities is resulting in; increased collective and self-help initiatives; increased incomes; increased food consumption; increased expenditure on utilities; increased assets acquisition including household repair; and increased social outcomes including improved female mobility and their enhanced social status. (All verified through third party evaluations).
PPAF mobilised communities is also leading to their political empowerment. Community members have contested local government elections and more than 500 members have been elected.
Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]
