Daily Times

According to a recent survey conducted by the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), an estimated 48 percent of Pakistan’s over 175 million population lives below the poverty line (not including FATA), of whom 37 percent suffer chronic poverty. Although alarming, the figures come as no surprise. What is surprising is how sharply the data contrasts with the conclusions of the 2010-11 Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) Survey conducted by the Planning Commission, which declared poverty had declined from 17.2 percent in 2008 to slightly over 12 percent in 2011. The BISP figures appear far more plausible but why such a huge disparity in numbers? The BISP has been lauded for providing much-needed relief to needy families, and has been described by officials as “the first step towards a welfare state”. In its short-term poverty alleviation strategy, over Rs 120 billion has been disbursed to recipient families in cash grants, most of which has come from international organisations like the World Bank and Department for International Development (DIFD). The Kerry-Lugar-Berman Act is expected to provide $ 75 million to BISP. The government is now launching poverty cushion programmes under Waseela-e-Haq (interest-free loans of up to Rs 300,000 to set up small businesses), Waseela-e-Rozgar (technical and vocational education and training for youth), Waseela-e-Sehat (Rs 100,000 provided to bread-earners under life insurance) and Waseela-e-Taleem (three million out-of-school children of ages 5-12 years to be sent to school). The new programmes offer long-term solutions. As the credo goes: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Temporary relief is a crutch; it must not be mistaken for a solution.

The guarantee of shelter, healthcare, education, food and drinking water as basic human rights must be provided to all. Poverty will never end unless there are real solutions to end it, solutions based on economic justice and political change. The government must implement tax reforms, cut back on expenditure, tackle the deteriorating law and order situation, and provide economic and educational opportunities for the people. In particular, it must effectively harness our more than 100 million youth as our biggest human capital with the highest return on investment.

We are still one of only four countries in the world that are unable to eradicate polio. Polio workers complain that vaccines are ruined due to poor refrigeration. So, we cannot refrigerate our vaccines because we cannot supply reliable electricity for more than a few hours a day. These realities highlight the urgent need for our leaders to get their priorities right in the present economically straitened circumstances. *