–Population Innovation Fund’s Rs1bn target set for December 2016 remains unachieved two years later
LAHORE: Despite the passage of two years, the Punjab Population Innovation Fund (PPIF) has failed to generate funds from non-governmental sources – raising concerns over its capacity which can also affect the sustainability of the entire programme, Pakistan Today has learnt.
As a signatory to the Family Planning (FP) P2020 pledge, Pakistan is committed to increasing its Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) from 35% to 55%, and reducing its total fertility rate from 3.8 to 2.6 births per woman by 2020.
To augment FP efforts, with an allocation of Rs413 million (project gestation period 2016-2019), the Punjab government had established PPIF in 2016 with an aim to render financial and technical assistance to innovative projects for population planning, improving access and generating a demand for family planning services.
For mid-term evaluation, a team of the Directorate General Monitoring & Evaluation (DGM&E) visited the Lahore office of PPIF as well as those of its implementing partners in Muzzafargarh and Rawalpindi on December 14.
According to the evaluation report prepared by DGM&E, “The data was collected and observations were recorded. Data analysis and document review showed that the programme only received Rs200 million from the government in December 2016. Of the Rs200 million, by November 2018, the PPIF utilised 88.5% funding under non-development heads and only 11.5% for funding the development projects, which translates that if the same trend continues in future, goals of PPIF might not be achieved”.
“The PPIF Concept Note stated that the programme will be established with funding of Rs200 million from the government of Punjab during 2015-2016. It will also receive and accept loans, aid, grants and endowments from local and international donors and philanthropists. It was anticipated that the fund will reach a level of Rs1 billion by the end of 2016, however, this was not achieved even by December 2018.”
“The programme only received Rs200 million from the government of Punjab in December 2016. Given that two years have passed since the establishment of PPIF and it could not generate any funding from non-governmental sources. The ability/capacity of PPIF to generate funding from non-governmental sources is questionable that could affect the sustainability of the programme.”
The report further states, “The PPIF launched the first round of funding in May 2017 with a call for proposals from public, private and academic institutes. The projects of Akhter Hameed Khan Resource Center (AHKRC) and Health and Nutrition Development Society (HANDS) were selected for funding under the first cycle and a third party – Ernst & Young was hired to monitor the progress of both the projects. The activities of projects were delayed due to the setback in the issuance of NOC from the Home Department. Resultantly, both projects were granted a no-cost-extension of six months period (Nov 2017- April 2019).”
“Both the projects aimed to achieve the following targets in one-year (by April 2019): Reach 80,000 Married Women of Reproductive Age (MWRA), Serve 42,000 FP Users (Current + New), Create 10,500 New Family Planning Users, Increase Contraceptive Prevalence Rate by 10%. However, monitoring reports of the AHKRC and HANDS projects (especially AHKRC project) identified several gaps in the project management and service delivery areas. For instance, in verification of new FP users showed that nearly half of new users (based on sample size) reported in AHKRC Report Quarter 2 were not new-users/ misrepresented; only 24% of new LARCS users were registered, against the target of 70% of new LARCS registration during Feb-April 2018; of the total household session registration forms reviewed randomly, no form was counter-signed/thumb imprinted by Married Women of Reproductive Age (MWRAs) etc” the report said.
Monitoring reports of AHKRC project also identified many discrepancies in the reported data that compromised its validity, integrity and originality e.g. in 5,012 cases, age of youngest child was more than the age of mother; over 13,030 entries did not have entry dates; 766 data entries were suspicious such as duplicate MWRA names, strange and duplicate house numbers, MWRA contact numbers and their husband’s names etc; in 20 cases, women aged 50+ years (up to age 90 years) were also registered to receive FP services etc. In this preview, achievements of AHKRC project and PPIF are questionable.
“Evidence shows that the Filed Workers (Noors) of both projects did not have adequate knowledge, skills and capacity to promote entrepreneurship and innovate FP efforts. Accordingly, PPIF’s Concept to promote FP efforts through innovations and entrepreneurial approaches appeared compromised. This would be a challenge for PPIF to find such skill-set in remote areas selected for interventions. To achieve the program objectives, the PPIF needs to address the gaps identified in this report.”
“Moreover, sustained efforts are required to achieve FP2020 objectives in Pakistan. In this view, 100% coverage of LHWs across Punjab/Pakistan and mandatory Pre-marital FP counseling for Nikkah registration may assist to address population and fertility trends in Pakistan,” the report stated.
