Impact Of Poverty In Pakistan

Poverty is still a major issue in most developing countries particularly those in Sub-Sahran Africa and South Asian countries, the past century has seen more advances in global prosperity and more people have come out of poverty than in all of human history. Standards of living have also improved. Infant mortality rates globally have been cut in half during 1970-1997, from 107 to 56 per thousand; and life expectancy has risen from 55 years to 67 years.Like many other developing countries, Pakistan has also made significant efforts to integrate its economy with rest of the world through foreign trade and investment. The Government of Pakistan adopted a strategy for poverty reduction in 2001, focusing on five areas which include i) accelerating

This strategy has already started bearing its fruits. Economic growth has accelerated and the country has achieved macroeconomic stability. The long term growth trajectory of 6 per cent per annum achieved during the last fiscal year and a real GDP growth of 8.4 per cent during the current fiscal year have improved the living standards of the people and thus, may help reduce poverty among the lowest segment of population.

The first district level Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) Survey, with a sample size of 76520 households from 5348 sample area, covering both urban and rural areas, has been conducted during the year 2004-05. The Survey was completed in March 2005. The first report of the Survey has been finalized and will be released shortly by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS). The Survey indicates that most of the indicators like, major source of drinking water, the type of toilet used, and enrolment in various levels in schools show a significant improvement over the last 4 years.Pakistan’s commitment to reducing poverty in the medium term was first reflected in Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) finalized in December 2003. The Medium Term Development Framework 2005-10

For 2005-06 inflation-adjusted poverty line used is Rs.944.47 per adult equivalent per month, up from Rs.878.64 in 2004-05. v Headcount ratio, i.e., percentage of population below the poverty line has fallen marginally from 23.94 percent in 2004-05 to 22.32 percent in 2005-06, an improvement of 1.62 percentage points. Poverty in rural areas declined from 28.13 percent to 27.0 percent, showing an improvement of 1.13 percentage points between 2004-05 and 2005-06. v Poverty in Urban areas also registered a decline from 14.94 percent to 13.1 percent during 2004-05 and 2005-06, thereby, depicting an improvement of 1.84 percentage points in the period. v The poverty estimates of 2005-06 are consistent with ground realities of that particular year and it is yet to be seen how far the recent upsurge in food prices has impacted the poverty profile in the country. v Government’s commitment to follow a sustained poverty reduction strategy and adhere to Fiscal Responsibility and Debt Limitation Act stipulation of allocating a minimum of 4.5 of GDP to social and poverty related expenditures is clearly reflected in the allocations for 2007-08. Expenditures on pro-poor sectors in 2006-07 at 5.7 percent of GDP were well above the requirement under the Law. These expenditures are projected to grow in nominal terms by roughly 20 percent over the 2006-07 levels