Poverty reduction through social mobilisation: Implementation of EU-funded Success programme initiated in rural Sindh

Implementation of the European Union (EU) funded Sindh Union Council and Community Economic Strengthening Support (SUCCESS) programme in rural Sindh has been initiated primarily aimed at poverty reduction through social mobilisation. The EU will fund some 82 million Euros for the 6-year programme that will cover eight districts including Tando Muhammad Khan, Sujawal, Matiari, Tando Allahyar, Larkana, Kambar Shahdadkot, Dadu and Jamshoro.
Chief Economist, Planning & Development Department (P&D) Sindh Mansoor Abbas Rizvi, while addressing as chief guest at the 'SUCCESS inception workshop' here at a local hotel on Thursday said that the provincial government was fully committed to the programme and will soon extend it to six additional district of Sindh through the Union Council Based Poverty Reduction Programme (UCBPRP).
"For this purpose the government has allocated Rs.5 billion in its current budget," he said. He observed that one of the fundamental issues of development of Pakistan is large population that becomes a liability if not engaged in productive activities. Giving opening remarks, Shoaib Sultan Khan, Chairman Ruler Support Program Network (RSPN) shared with the audience that back in 2009, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah listened to the strategies of RSPs and approved the UCBPRP for two most backward districts of the province namely Shikarpur and Kashmor. Shoaib said that the UCBRPR worked only with women and empowered them not only economically but also on attaining self-confidence and power of their own potential to improve their status.
By quoting the Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation (ISACPA) he said the centre-piece of a policy framework for poverty alleviation has to be the mobilisation of the poor in order to enable them to participate directly in the decisions that affect their lives and prospects. The major reason of poverty in South Asia is the public sector makes huge investments but does not create a receiving mechanism for delivery of goods and services at the grassroots. Commonly it does not effectively involve poor communities when planning or delivering 'development'.
Fazal Ali Saadi, Programme Manager SUCCESS RSPN the SUCCESS programme, the partner Rural Support Programmes (RSPs) will be working in eight districts of Sindh to mobilise 770,000 rural poor households through their women members into 37,213 Community Organisations (COs), 3,360 Village Organisations (VOs) and 307 Local Support Organisations (LSOs).
He further said that the programme will particularly focus on the household falling in the lowest band of poverty. For this purpose the RSPs have initiated a door to door poverty score card census in six out of the eight programme districts. The RSPs have adopted the World Bank and BISP Poverty Score Card - a tool to identify poor households. Using the latest technology the survey employs Computer Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI) where interviewers use portable tablet computer and the programme implementers have access to real time data. Based on the survey data the programme interventions will be targeted on the households falling in the lowest band of poverty.
Talking at the event, Dr Rashid Bajwa, the CEO of NRSP, pointed out the recent poverty score card survey data in Sindh shows a raising trend in poverty level. He emphasised that policy makers need to consider this situation and make concrete efforts to help support the rural poor. Members of SRSO Board, Chief Executive Officers of the SUCCESS Implementing Partners (RSPN, NRSP, SRSO and TRDP), representatives of finance, Union Council Base Poverty Reeducation (UCBPRP), planning department, labor department, programme department of government of Sindh and representatives of civil society attended the event.