3 Innovative Solutions To Reducing Poverty in Pakistan

ACCORDING to the World Bank’s recent estimates, 734 million
people live in extreme poverty on $1.90 or less a day.
3 Innovative Solutions to Reducing Poverty in Pakistan

1.Ehsaas Program: The Pakistani government launched a scheme in
2019 known as the “Ehsaas Program.” With the coronavirus and
lockdowns stifling the income of millions of daily wagers, the
program quickly implemented a new project called the Ehsaas
Emergency Cash Program. Under this initiative, low-income
Pakistanis can gain access to financial assistance through text
messages. As of right now, the program is helping 12 million
families throughout the country. It provides stipends of 12,000 PKR
($72) each which families are using to buy food rations.
2.The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP): BISP is a

federal scheme that launched back in 2008. Its purpose was to
provide unconditional cash support to help alleviate struggling
families living in poverty in Pakistan. It remains the largest support
program in Pakistan. BISP distributed approximately 90 billion PKR
($542 million) to 5 million low-income Pakistanis. Additionally, the
program uses tools such as its BISP debit cards to make cash
transfers convenient. The program especially helps women and low-
income Pakistanis from minority groups to gain access to financial
assistance.
3.Kamyab Jawan Program: Kamyab Jawan Program is the first of

its kind in Pakistan. Launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan and his
government, this program provides assistance and resources to
youth on a national level. Through this platform, the country’s youth
ages 15 to 29 will benefit from youth empowerment programs, loans
for youth entrepreneurs and startups, youth legislations and youth
councils. Through this program, Pakistani youth are finally being
integrated into civil institutions and given opportunities to lift
themselves out of poverty.
Solutions
4. With consistent efforts, Pakistan can reduce poverty levels. Yes,
the social protection programmes are key to this, but there are
other dimensions that the government needs to focus on.
5. There is a need to focus on the education of poor because human
capital plays a vital role in breaking the vicious cycle of poverty.
Public and private sectors, along with community participation,
should manage and create human capital in the shape of better
technical education that will increase the productivity of poor.
6. The government needs to take concrete steps to increase job
creation and raise the minimum wage of full-time workers along
with ensuring compliance with the minimum wage law.
7. There is a need to formulate risk management programmes, which
can help the poor prevent and cope with the financial and natural
shocks. Microfinance and food transfer programmes may be mixed
with other mechanisms for effective risk management.
8. There is also a need to support poor people’s social capital by
assisting them in engaging with market and non-market institutions
to strengthen their influence over policy.
9. Marginalisation of certain segments of society creates systematic
barriers to social mobility and it is important that the government
strives to enforce equality and ensure representation for all in
society.
10. It is important to provide access to clean water and sufficient
daily nutrient requirement as it helps combat poverty by reducing
stunting and wasting. Easy access to healthcare, subsidised
medicines and crackdown on quacks are essential.
11. There is a need to provide cheaper and easier access to
technology and innovation including internet access and affordable
energy in order to provide equal opportunities for the poor so that
they could break out of the poverty trap.
12. Overpopulation is eating all the resources. There should be
micro-level policy-making to control population, too, before it is
too late. It is only through a multi-pronged approach that poverty
can ever be managed.
And most importantly, the government must find ways to develop and
implement rapid and sustained economic growth policies and
programmes, allowing the poor to participate and contribute to the
growth. Nicholas Kristof rightly points out that “worrying about bills,
food or other problems leaves less capacity to think ahead or to exert
self-discipline. So, poverty imposes a mental tax.”
Create jobs
The best pathway out of poverty is a well-paying job. To get back to

prerecession employment levels, we must create 5.6 million new jobs.
At the current pace, however, we will not get there until July 2018. To
kick-start job growth, the federal government should invest in job-
creation strategies such as rebuilding our infrastructure; developing
renewable energy sources; renovating abandoned housing; and making
other common-sense investments that create jobs, revitalize
neighborhoods, and boost our national economy. We should also build
on proven models of subsidized employment to help the long-term
unemployed and other disadvantaged workers re-enter the labor force.
China eradicated extreme poverty in December 2020 by alleviating

almost 850 million people out of the trap in four decades; from 1981 to
2020. It has achieved large-scale poverty reduction mainly through rapid
economic growth. This was made through continuous reforms and
structural changes which shifted China from agriculture to
manufacturing services and gave it access to international trade and
knowledge transfer. Pakistan needs to learn from the Chinese example.
Improved Irrigation
Change the way we irrigate. Roughly 70% of the world’s freshwater is
used to grow crops; we could improve these practices to use much less
water than we currently use. Employing agricultural practices such as
planting crops that require less water, setting up irrigation systems
without leakages, and developing farm-based water conservation
structures is very important. This can aid in the protection of forests and
the development of horticulture.
Initiative of Statutory Bodies
Local governments can take part in water conversation by utilizing

watershed development and monitoring groundwater usage by farmers.
It is important to encourage farmers at the district and state levels to
choose crops wisely, help to harvest water by using watersheds, and
provide necessary mechanisms for the protection and conservation of
water bodies/ ponds, forests, groundwater, rivers and streams.
Address Pollution
We, as a species, need to address the ever-growing challenge of

pollution. Enough studies have been done now; it’s time to take action
and quickly, in order to save billions of lives.
2. Water re-use and Effective Water Treatment Technologies

Water re-use strategies can help alleviate water scarcity in cities,
schools, hospitals, and industries. The main strategies here include reuse
and recycling and the use of zero-liquid discharge systems. Zero-liquid
discharge system is whereby the water within a facility is constantly
treated, used and reused again and again without being discharged into
the sewer or other external water systems.
The non-potable water (greywater) can be used for washing cars,

irrigating landscape, industrial processing and flushing the toilets. Such
a system allows the waste water that would have been discarded to
become a helpful resource. Water re-use or greywater can hence save a
lot of fresh water for human consumption in times of water shortage and
water stress.
5. Infrastructure Repair and Maintenance

One of the key ways of solving the problem of water scarcity can be
through infrastructure repair and maintenance of water channels.
Leaking pipes and sewage systems normally lead to water wastage and
contamination respectively. If these infrastructures are left unattended to
over time, the cumulative effects can create water shortages. Millions of
liters of water are lost yearly in various regions of the world owing to
leakages and sewer contamination, creating water shortages.

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ACCORDING to the World Bank’s recent estimates, 734 million

people live in extreme poverty on $1.90 or less a day.

3 Innovative Solutions to Reducing Poverty in Pakistan

2.The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP): BISP is a

3.Kamyab Jawan Program: Kamyab Jawan Program is the first of

The best pathway out of poverty is a well-paying job. To get back to

China eradicated extreme poverty in December 2020 by alleviating

Initiative of Statutory Bodies

Local governments can take part in water conversation by utilizing

We, as a species, need to address the ever-growing challenge of

2. Water re-use and Effective Water Treatment Technologies

The non-potable water (greywater) can be used for washing cars,

5. Infrastructure Repair and Maintenance

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