close
Tuesday March 19, 2024

A better tomorrow

By Joanna Reid
May 24, 2018

Pakistan’s potential is enormous, and needs to be unlocked. All of Pakistan’s people need to be enabled to achieve their individual potential so that this nation can truly prosper.

But too many Pakistanis have not felt the benefit of development. We can change this together; we can secure a better tomorrow for all of Pakistan’s people. And to do this we must be inclusive.

Unicef estimates that 12.5 million children in Pakistan are involved in child labour. In reality, this figure is probably much higher because domestic labour, which happens behind closed doors, is hard to measure. Data from Unicef also tells us that nearly half of all marriages involve girls younger than 18, and out of these, 70 percent are married by their 16th birthday, often being denied the right to learn and to a childhood.

As for people with disabilities in Pakistan, the truth is that we know far too little about their lives. If we use the World Health Organisation’s global estimates we could be talking about as many as 30 million Pakistanis. Data is infamously poor globally. Lack of inclusion of people with disabilities could be costing the economy between 4.9 and 6.3 percent of GDP each year, according to a research by the British Council.

The good news is that Pakistan’s current and future generation of leaders is committed to addressing these challenges. Pakistan is already taking immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human-trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour. Pakistan is committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals for all.

There are strong statutory bodies that have forged positive working relationships with the government and the civil society. There have been significant strides forward in the legislative and policy spheres. And we can see early evidence that policies and laws are being implemented. But more needs to be done to improve the quality of evidence and see how this translates into policy-making, spending and change, for those who are too often exploited and left behind.

There is an urgent need to do more and to do it now. We need to work together. That is why I was proud to represent the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) at the formal signing-ceremony of the Aawaz-II programme this week.

Aawaz-II is the second phase of a successful voice and accountability programme working across the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. It will see some of Pakistan’s most marginalised communities empowered to demand their rights and will strengthen the capacity of the state to respond. The programme will build a strong evidence base for those who are too often exploited and left behind. It will then raise the voices of some of Pakistan’s most marginalised people while strengthening the ability of state institutions to respond and protect their rights. Aawaz-II complements the other work we are doing to support the people of Pakistan to realise the ambition of Vision 2025 and the SDGs by 2030.

I truly value the great partnership we have forged with the UN and the government of Pakistan to tackle these issues and to work for a Pakistan which is inclusive of all. We are united by a shared vision of a Pakistan where everyone can prosper, can achieve their potential and where no one is left behind.

The writer heads DfID in Pakistan.