It seems that the current political developments which are capricious have overshadowed the findings of the recently released UNDP report on the Human Development Index (HDI). Thus far it has failed to magnetise the attentions of Pakistani mass-media, government, political leaderships, bureaucracy, NGOs, and the civil society at large – a serious neglect indeed. This article is an attempt to raise the issue and draw attention of policymakers and the political leadership. There are startling statistics that we all should debate around. South Asian countries in general and Pakistan in particular have been struggling to improve the HD indicators which currently stand at the bottom of the ranking’s table. Out of 187 countries Pakistan stands at the 145th position, India 134 and Bangladesh 146. Pakistan’s life expectancy at birth stands at 65.4 years, India 65.4 and Bangladesh 68.9. Expected years of schooling in Pakistan are 6.9, India 10.3 and Bangladesh 8.1.
Pakistan’s mean years of schooling is measured at 4.9, India 4.4 and Bangladesh 4.8. Gross National Income per capita as measured in Purchasing Power Parity, for Pakistan, is $2,550, India $3,468 and Bangladesh $1,529. According to the UNDP report, the overall HDI value for Pakistan is 0.504, India 0.547 and Bangladesh 0.500. Interestingly, tall claims have been made on India’s economic performance; however, given the India’s current HDI ranking it can be concluded India’s robust economic growth has failed to improve the socio-economic indicators of the country.
Pakistan’s story is no different than other regional countries, indeed. Due to our own neglect, the economy stands in deep waters and socio-economic indicators have worsened over the last years. Population explosion, poverty, unemployment, poor economic governance, prevailing high level of corruption in the society, low tax-to-GDP ratio, increasing domestic and foreign debt, energy crisis and unsatisfactory security situation are stated to be real barriers which have negatively affected the socio-economic indicators of the country.
Ironically, Pakistan’s spending on education and health is one of the lowest among the developing world. It is now said that after the 18th Amendment, provinces have been empowered to manage health, education, social welfare and other ministries. Clearly, the onus is now on provincial governments to step up the process and make ministries, which they have inherited from the federal government, more vibrant, focused and professionally driven.
Nonetheless, it seems that education and health are given the lowest priority by all provincial governments and that they don’t have the capacity to run these ministries. It is also felt that the working of the ministries, which is run by the incompetent corrupt bureaucracy, is painfully slow with deep cracks and holes in it. These, however, can be filled if the incompetent and corrupt bureaucracy is replaced by a new delivery system which is fair, fast and transparent and is run by dedicated and honest professionals.
To enable the system to work more effectively and diligently, a more focused and coherent approach is required. Besides making the health and education ministries more effective, Poverty Alleviation Cells are to be established in all provinces which are focused on providing effective and immediate social safety nets to the poor. To meet this end a strong nexus of the development sector, local governments, academia, communities, and civil society is to be created. This is the only way forward. All political parties must give priority to education and health in their manifesto and practically demonstrate it instead of doing the lip-service.
However, all provincial governments should realise the gravity of the situation, and showcase serious efforts to improve HD indicators. The capacity of the relevant ministries must be scaled up to ensure timely and smooth delivery of services. This is not a mission impossible job-it can be achieved if the will of the political leadership exists.
The writer is an Islamabad based freelance contributor, researcher and trainer. He can be reached at [email protected]
