MUHAMMAD SALEEM

LAHORE: The Punjab government is formulating a development framework for the less developed districts which have been most lagging behind in the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in the province, in order to bring them at par with the developed regions.

Over the last 10 years, the MPI has consistently improved for Punjab with a noticeable decreasing trend of both intensity in terms of level of deprivation as well as in terms of the headcount ratio i.e., incidence of poverty, the sources said.

Major contributors to Punjab’s MPI still remain the number of years of schooling, access to health facilities and child school attendance with overall contributions of education, health and living standards amounting to 43%, 27% and 31%, respectively.

The data indicates that both income and multidimensional poverty in the province have declined in similar proportions. However, there are regional disparities in poverty rates across Punjab, not only between districts, but also between rural and urban areas. These regional imbalances are being targeted under the effective implementation of SDGs through the development framework for the less developed districts.

Proper stock taking exercises and a robust monitoring mechanism will further propagate the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the province, the sources added.

Pakistan was among the early nations who committed to declare the SDGs 2030 agenda as a national agenda through the National Assembly Resolution. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have replaced the MDGs with a more comprehensive coverage.

The main challenge for Pakistan now is to effectively transform the SDGs into provincial strategies, policies and budgets, i.e. localization. In an effort to learn from previous experience of the MDGs, the SDGs framework is being implemented with a different approach by localizing the agenda and increasing the stakes as well as role of local governments.

For this reason, the Planning and Development Department and UNDP have collaborated to support the Punjab government’s efforts for mainstreaming, acceleration and policy support (MAPS) for SDGs which is one of the common approach to support implementation of the SDGs as laid by the UN.

The sources claim that the government realizes that a balanced approach is required to simultaneously trigger an inclusive private sector growth and attain social outcomes that are much beyond the historic achievements.

The government observed that certain segments in the province, especially the Southern regions have been historically served less. A conscious tilt in development allocations in favour of these less developed regions has been made to reduce these imbalances, which is also extremely important for the province in order to achieve its SDG targets.