LAHORE: The two-day Punjab Human Development Forum 2018 concluded on Wednesday with an aim to improve determinants of sustainable human development. Speaking at the closing ceremony, Minister for National Health Services Regulation and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar said, “It is heartening to see a good number of development experts and health experts under one roof discussing the human capital growth in Punjab and finding out new ways to accelerate the pace of human development. We need a multi-sectoral approach for the implementation of all initiatives. We must learn from the extensive experience of the experts so that the true objective of organising this forum can be achieved.” The closing ceremony was also attended by Punjab Minister for Planning and Development Department Malik Kamran Malik. In his remarks, Planning and Development Board Chairman Muhammad Jehanzeb Khan said, “The forum discussed multiple determinants of human development with main focus on the prevailing endemic of malnutrition in the province. In today’s world, investing in nutrition is an absolute necessity and not a luxury and the provincial government with its commitment to making nutrition a priority in the province was well cognisant of the fact. Good nutrition lies at the heart of human development and drives progress in health, education, gender equity, poverty reduction and employment opportunities.” The Urban Unit Chief Executive Officer Dr Nasir Javed commended the successful organisation of Punjab Human Development Forum 2018 and stressed the need for making human capital development a policy priority. Punjab Planning and Development Department Secretary Iftikhar Ali Sahoo said, “This forum has not only shed light on major determinants of human development but also highlighted that it is imperative that policies and programmes, which promote human development, are designed for and reach everyone, thereby making development more inclusive.” Dr Umar Saif, Punjab Information Technology Board chairman, said: ‘Skills development and its links with inclusive and sustainable development are indispensable. Therefore, training is the only way to make the huge pool of youth productive members of the workforce in Punjab. By skill training I mean to underline skill training that is demand driven and market based.” The two-day event brought together a number of international and national development experts discussing six themes in six sessions The forum was attended by high profile government officials, professionals, practitioners, academicians, development partners, researchers and government officials. World Bank Pakistan representative Patchamuthu Illangovan, Cristian Munduate of the UNICEF Pakistan, Dr Christian Oldiges (University of Oxford), Cristina Isabel Santos (World Bank), Professor Gavin Jones (Australian National University), E Gail Richardson (World Bank), Dr Jaime Saaverda Chaduvi (World Bank), Neil Buhne (UNDP), Sarah Morati Masale (UNFPA), Dr Agha Xaher Gul (USEFP) and Dr Yasmeen Sabeeh Qazi (David and Kucile Packard Foundation) also addressed the audience. Published in Daily Times, February 15th 2018.