Pathways to poverty reduction in Pakistan |
POVERTY in Pakistan is defined and measured by various institutions, including the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES), the Planning Commission, the World Bank, the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
However, beyond these statistical measurements, the reality of poverty in Pakistan is far more painful, complex and deeply human. It is visible in the long queues of women—young and old—waiting for hours to receive their Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) payments, sometimes with tragic consequences when overcrowded or unsafe conditions lead to loss of life.
There are even more distressing manifestations: when a mother, overwhelmed by hunger and despair, takes the drastic step of ending her life. These realities represent not just poverty, but acute vulnerability and human suffering. Despite these conditions, official poverty figures often differ from those presented by international institutions, reflecting differences in methodology, thresholds and measurement approaches.
Poverty cannot be understood solely as a lack of income; it also reflects limited access to quality education, healthcare, adequate housing, sanitation and economic opportunities. High unemployment and the prevalence of low-paying jobs deepen deprivation and trap large segments of the population in persistent hardship. Population growth and poverty are closely interconnected: rapid population increase can intensify poverty while poverty itself often contributes to higher population growth due to limited access to education and family planning. Successive governments in Pakistan have paid insufficient attention to population management. Other major contributors include political instability, inflation, unemployment, low wages, poor education, natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes, low tax collection and the unequal distribution of wealth.
Symptoms and effects of poverty appear through malnutrition, child labour, poor living conditions and limited opportunities for social mobility. Another striking factor is rural versus urban poverty. In rural areas, higher poverty levels can be observed due to the lack of proper infrastructure, jobs, education and health facilities, as well as the absence of local industries for women, such as textile work, to boost exports. Job creation in rural areas and reducing unemployment are two of the most effective ways to control poverty in Pakistan, but they work best when combined with other improvements such as a strong local government system and the development of efficient infrastructure.
Unemployment is one of the biggest causes of poverty because without jobs there is no income. Even educated people struggle when opportunities are limited, which increases inequality and social problems. On the contrary, when people get jobs they can afford food, education and healthcare. As the economy grows, poverty decreases naturally. However, even when jobs exist, poverty may continue if people remain uneducated or unskilled, wages are too low and inflation is high. Therefore, job creation must be combined with education and skill training, access to loans and small business support. Job creation is one of the strongest solutions to poverty, but it works best when supported by education, fair wages and economic stability.
In the absence of support prices for farmers and growers, the rising prices of pesticides, fertilizers, seeds, petrol and diesel are very alarming. Reducing poverty requires a mix of economic, social and governance reforms. However, a few high-impact measures are required, as follows:
(i). Control the growing overpopulation in Pakistan on a war footing. Iran has controlled overpopulation through premarital counselling and free delivery of contraceptives and Bangladesh is also a major success story, often quoted by our political leadership yet rarely acted upon.
(ii). Install skilled and vocational training centres and promote industries in rural areas.
(iii). Provide constitutional provisions and protection for holding local government elections regularly.
(iv). Ensure poor-centric and targeted subsidies in agriculture in rural areas, as the poverty rate there is almost double the urban poverty rate.
(v). Ensure regional connectivity with neighbouring countries for trade and open borders for robust revenue collection through political dialogue and reconciliation.
(vi). One of the most successful rural health programmes, the Lady Health Worker programme, may be upgraded and expanded through public-private partnerships and NGOs. This programme started in 1994 to provide basic healthcare to rural families. It trains local women from the same villages to serve as community health workers who visit homes regularly to check mothers and children and provide vaccination awareness, maternal and child healthcare, family planning advice and support for national health programmes such as polio vaccination campaigns. Women often feel more comfortable discussing personal and private issues with them and they reach remote areas where doctors are not available. However, to make the programme more effective, their salaries and payments should be increased.
(vii). Public-private partnerships in health, education, waste management and other viable sectors may be revived, similar to those during the Musharraf era.
(viii). Empower women economically through job creation, industrial opportunities and investment in girls’ education.
(ix). Strengthen and improve social safety nets by doubling the amount provided under BISP and offering loans to deserving poor segments in Pakistan, especially in Balochistan, KP and Sindh where the poverty rate is alarmingly high.
(x). Strengthen institutions of accountability to combat corruption with zero tolerance through an undisputed and transparent process.
In conclusion, there is no single solution. Pakistan therefore needs consistent policies across multiple sectors. The most effective strategies include job creation, human development in education and health and strong governance with zero corruption.
—The writer is a former Executive Director, National Institute of Population Studies (NIPS).