NA panel urges rethink of poverty fight

Committee stresses sustainable livelihoods over aid dependence

ISLAMABAD:

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety (PA&SS) on Monday stressed the need for evolving poverty alleviation efforts beyond cash assistance and towards skills development, entrepreneurship, economic empowerment and sustainable livelihoods.

The committee met at the offices of the Trust for Voluntary Organization (TVO) to review ongoing efforts for strengthening social protection through digitisation, expanding inclusion of beneficiaries and promoting sustainable economic empowerment.

The meeting, chaired by Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur, discussed the ongoing digitisation of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), including efforts to bring beneficiaries into the digital domain, improve access and address connectivity challenges in remote areas. The measures are aimed at strengthening transparency, controlling fraudulent activities and improving the efficiency of social protection delivery.

The participants stressed the need for evolving poverty alleviation efforts beyond cash assistance and towards skills development, entrepreneurship, economic empowerment and sustainable livelihoods, to enable beneficiaries to become self-reliant and contribute to economic activity in line with Pakistan's commitments towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The meeting also provided an opportunity for the TVO to present its journey as an indigenous, professionally managed and independent national grant-making institution supporting community-led development. During the meeting, TVO Chief Operating Officer (CEO) Sahebzada Ghulam Mohyudin gave a briefing.

"Our experience has demonstrated that sustainable development is possible when communities are given the resources, skills and opportunity to lead their own solutions," Mohyudin told the committee, while dilating on how the organisation had evolved from a grant-making initiative into a sustainable institution.

"The TVO has built an indigenous and professionally managed model that combines grant-making with sustainability," he said, adding that the TVO had so far disbursed more than Rs1.3 billion in grants, implemented over 1,440 projects and benefited more than 10 million people across more than 100 districts, working with over 1,200 partners.

The committee appreciated the TVO's efforts. The discussions emphasised the need for poverty alleviation initiatives to increasingly focus on economic opportunity, self-reliance and empowerment rather than dependence on financial assistance alone.