Ahmed Mukhtar Naqshbandi
MANILA: Amid global supply chain disruptions and after devastating flash floods in the country, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has sanctioned $1.5 billion in financing to help Pakistan provide social protection, promote food security, and support employment for its people.
The loan, provided under ADB’s Building Resilience with Active Countercyclical Expenditures (BRACE) Programme, will help fund the government’s $2.3 billion countercyclical development expenditure program designed to reduce the impacts of external shocks like Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
Yevgeniy Zhukov, ADB Director General for Central and West Asia said in a statement on Friday that “Pakistan’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has been impeded by external shocks.” “Increasing business costs and rising living expenses are affecting millions of Pakistanis, especially the poor and vulnerable.
ADB’s programme will help the government manage the impacts of high prices, increasing food insecurity, slowing business activity, and reducing income for vulnerable groups, many of whom are also reeling from the devastating floods,” he added.
ADB’s loan will help the government in Pakistan to assist poor families who are often severely affected in times of crisis and natural calamities. The government’s support program for the lower classes of society includes measures to promote gender empowerment and climate change adaptation.
The Bank’s assistance will help expand the number of families receiving cash transfers from 7.9 million to 9 million, increase the number of children enrolled in primary and secondary schools, and enhance geographic coverage of health services and nutritional supplies for pregnant and lactating mothers and children under 2 years of age.
