Despite US-Pak Differences USAID Program Retains Momentum - 2
By Salahuddin Haider
Karachi, Pakistan
The emphasis in the first part of this article was on the overall evaluation of the USAID program in Pakistan, with special reference to education. The country’s economic growth, in which United States has been playing a pivotal role, has a long history. Summarizing it is therefore difficult, but an attempt is
being made here to furnish a glimpse of what it means, and how its philosophy works out to achieve the required result.
Dams are considered vital for energy production as well as irrigation; both serve as powerful and essential stimulants in any forward developmental push. The underlying idea in this endeavor is the funding of economic-growth projects to increase income and create jobs, which in turn, contribute to the overall progress of the country. It is obvious from the Agency’s publications that the US and Pakistan strive for an economic partnership based on trade, not just aid.
Trade between the two countries approximated $ 6 billion annually with the US serving as Pakistan’s largest export market.
Some of the programs are aimed at constructing irrigation canals below the Gomal Zam and Satpara Dams in order to add more than 200,000 acres to Pakistan’s arable land. Thousands of farmers in Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan, depending on seasonal rains, will reap increased profits from the permanent irrigation and modern water saving techniques.
More than 1,000 kilometer long roads are being rebuilt and reconstructed: over 650 km in FATA and KPK, besides reconstruction of the Peshawar-Torkham Highway that will support regional trade for years to come.
Pakistan has the fourth largest dairy livestock in the world, and it is no surprise that that USAID, in cooperation with a foreign firm, Nestle Pakistan, has trained 9,000 farmers and 5,000 small agri-businesses to help protect their livestock and improve the quality of their products, and thus boost revenues.
Vaccinations protect more than 110,000 dairy cows, buffaloes, and yaks from diseases. More than 70,000 female micro-entrepreneurs have been trained in new techniques to lower costs and increase production. Funds will be available through the Pakistan Private Investment Initiative (PPII) to promising small and medium sized businesses to give a fillip to this undertaking.
Some mention had been made in the previous article of an important undertaking but details will help us understand more that the gigantic Mangla Dam generators are being renovated to provide added 100 megawatts of electricity, enough for 226,000 households. Likewise, the Jamshoro and Guddu plants in Sindh, and the Muzaffargarh plant in the Punjab, are being renovated to generate added power supply for 1.5 million households. Help has also been provided for the Gomal Zam Dam project which on completion will generate 17.4 MW of power for 39,000 households. Likewise, the Satpara Dam in Gilgit-Baltistan area will generate 17.7 MW for some 40,000 families. An estimated 2 million households are to benefit by the end of the current year, according to available figures.
In view of insufficient funds allocated in the social sector to gear up education and health a five-year program, estimated to cost $ 387 million, will give a much needed boost to the maternal and child health projects to save precious lives. This is being done at all tiers of administration. There are many other well-meaning schemes: Jamila, a mother of 7, living near the Karachi Airport with her husband and family, had a miniscule monthly earning of $ 7. She was able to successfully raise her monthly income to $19 by managing more orders from buyers through techniques learnt by attending workshops.
The USAID entrepreneur program provides basic business skills to women from low income communities. The project teaches women artisans to identify products in high demand, to assess better markets and business service providers, and to market new products at higher prices. Jamila is one of the 26,000 women who would benefit from this program by 2014.
A look at these programs shows that the US is engaged in bringing a quality change in an average Pakistani’s life. Truth always prevails and remains unchallenged. It has to be accepted, ungrudgingly.
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