Despite US-Pak Differences USAID Program Retains Momentum
By Salahuddin Haider
Karachi, Pakistan
Inquisitive as I was to know whether the USAID program too was struck by the high and low in the political perceptions of Islamabad and Washington, I met the Deputy Mission Director of the USAID program in Karachi, collected facts and figures, and felt convinced after analyzing these that the economic and social development program of the United States for Pakistan has continued unhindered, which in many ways was satisfying for me, and perhaps, for many others too.
Voices raised in the past, and continuing till date from weaker to powerful quarters for reviewing the bilateral ties because of the drone attacks within Pakistani territories, do have their own purpose, but US officials do emphasize unhesitatingly that their international aid program has benefitted Pakistan in major sectors like energy, education, economic growth, health and stabilization of infrastructure in Khyber Pukhtoonkhaw province.
Facts speak for themselves. The US Aid is the second largest in Pakistan, totaling $ 3.5 billion since 2009 with another $ 800 million in the pipeline for the current year. At government-to- government levels, some 40 percent of this has been through federal and provincial establishments. The USAID deputy chief in Karachi, Leon Stephen Waskin, nicknamed Skip, felt genuinely proud for being involved with such a marvelous assignment. He is responsible for Sindh and Balochistan areas, but did shed some light on the overall activities of his organization at the national level.
He was happy that economic growth largely focused on the energy sector, which Pakistan badly needs to develop to end its chronic shortages, a constant irritant to the ordinary people and small, medium and large size industries, and often causing street agitation, which is indisputably a matter of deep concern for the government in Pakistan and anywhere else.
Other programs worth the name included diary projects in Southern Punjab and Northern Sindh, agri-business support fund for improving production, horticulture, and larger market approaches for domestic and international purposes. Then there was the rehabilitation of 2.7 million families in Tarbela, Jamshoro, and Muzafargarh, near Multan. In real terms, this would provide relief to 14 million souls considering that each family averaged 6 persons.
The United States help has also come for the Gomal Zam Dam project, and by way of training thousands of linemen for the grid station safety program. Also it has been working with power generation companies to improve their efficiency. The Hyderabad Company, commonly called HESCO, is a case in point. Besides, there is the Bhasha Dam, and some $ 20 million for conducting feasibilities for the government’s program of installing thermal, coal, and solar energy projects. The choice is left to the recipient, Skip, feeling happy to be addressed as such, revealed.
The program is so large and widespread that describing it fully would be like writing a history book, but just separating education from the rest, for the present, would perhaps give a bird’s eye view of how investment can be made for a bright future.
Recognizing that education was the key to future prosperity and economic growth, one of the many publications of the organization, working here since decades, does acknowledge that Pakistan needed a workforce with the knowledge and skills to compete in today’s global market. Millions of school-age children in this country do not receive basic education, resulting in a literacy rate lower than the regional average. A sad state of affair because these facts are sifted by UNESCO and cannot be discounted as fiction.
Many schools are in disrepair and many teachers need training. Pakistanis at all income levels need better access to higher education. Unlocking every child’s full potential with quality education is one of the top assistance priorities of the United States. The USAID goal is to help 3.2 million children read at or above their grade levels. The two countries are working together to create two- and four-year accredited degree programs at 90 teachers colleges and universities. More than 2,600 future teachers are currently enrolled in these programs and some 1,900 of the talented ones have been awarded scholarships.
These publications do furnish considerable insight into how the US funds the largest Fulbright academic exchange program in the world in Pakistan. Almost 900 Pakistani students have studied in American universities, and another 10,600 low income students have attended college at home as a result of US-funded scholarships. Centers for advanced studies at three Pakistani universities are being established to focus on applied research in agriculture, energy and water. Yet another important program is funded to the extent of $155 million to support the government of Sindh’s basic education program.
This includes up to $ 81 million for the construction of 120 schools in seven districts of Sindh and five towns of Karachi. This will advance the Sindh government’s school reform policy to merge and consolidate schools and to reconstruct flood-damaged schools.
Yet another $ 4 million is meant to repair and rehabilitate schools damaged in the 2011 floods in the four Sindh districts of Mirpur Khas, Sanghar, Umerkot and Tando Allahyar. US ambassador Richard Olson and Consul General Michael Dodman have visited some of these projects to keep themselves abreast of the progress of work in this undertaking. (To be continued)
- salluhaider@gmail. ,com
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