By IANS,
Islamabad : The World Bank Friday approved two projects totaling $300 million to help Pakistan strengthen its social safety nets and improve higher education.
Of the total, $200 million has been allocated for the Pakistan social safety nets development policy credit that is designed to establish an institutional and operational framework for an efficient national safety net system, Online news agency reported.
The policy credit, along with the Pakistan social safety net technical assistance project approved in June 2009, will strengthen the Benazir Income Support Programme that aims to cushion the negative effects of the food crisis and inflation on poor people.
“Pakistani households are highly vulnerable to income shocks and existing social assistance programmes cover only a very small fraction of the poor,” said Yusupha Crookes, the World Bank country director for Pakistan.
“Assisting the poor and the vulnerable is a key objective of the government’s poverty reduction strategy. This project will help build a robust safety net system that provides chronic and transient poor people with both basic income support and access to opportunities that will help lift them out of poverty,” Crookes added.
This policy credit will help establish a national targeting system based on objective and transparent criteria, supported by strong and transparent institutions for collecting enrollment data, determining eligibility and benefit payments and for addressing grievances.
The programme will have a strong emphasis on monitoring and evaluation to ensure that benefits reach poor people.
The World Bank also approved $100 million to support the government’s efforts to improve higher education.
The higher education support programme credit will support the government’s initiatives to increase participation, enhance quality and relevance and strengthen the efficiency and financial sustainability of higher education institutions.