NCHD extends working to 16 districts

Since launching of its operations in 2002 at Mardan, National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) has extended its working to 16 districts in the country through establishment of Human Development Support Units (HDSU).
Amir Bilal, NCHD General Manager Public Relations, disclosed this in a press conference held at the Lahore Press Club on Saturday.
He said that NCHD, an autonomous Federal body, has chalked out programmes in education, health, micro-enterprises, capacity-development and volunteerism/community development.
"These HDSUs were the primary conduits for the implementation of the Commission's various programmes and projects. Apart from 16 districts, NCHD has launched literacy projects in 19 other districts with the help of local civil organisations and these 35 locations make up 40 percent of Pakistan. The primary role was to build capacities and improve service delivery in the social sector at the district level," he added.
Amir Bilal said they received little funds from the government and had to rely on foreign donors like United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and individual philanthropists.
In this connection Pakistan Human Development Fund was set up and was supported by an initial grant of $32 million by the Federal government, a seed capital of $2.5 million was donated by expatriates and local Pakistanis, and an assistance of $1.7 million by UNDP.
According to the GM Public Relations, as of October 31, 2003, the commission has made commendable success in a number of its programmes.
In education, NCHD has succeeded in enrolling 358,000 students and the dropout rate has been decreased significantly compared to a national average of 50 percent.
Over 2000 literacy centres have been established in the most backward areas of Pakistan, where over 53,000 persons have been made functionally literate. Over 1250 new primary schools have been opened in partnership with the community, housing 52,000 children.
He said, "In the area of health, over 20,000 children have been vaccinated in areas where no governmental and private vaccination facilities previously existed. 50,000 women have been given the awareness about ORS, over 23,000 women have been vaccinated for their reproductive health, and 43 percent in the targeted areas have been educated to prevent diseases."
Amir Bilal disclosed in the press conference that another unique achievement was the identification of over 39,000 volunteers across Pakistan, who mainly contributed in augmenting the implementation of the commission's main programmes, and the target set was the establishment of a National Volunteer Corps of 100,000 volunteers.
"The commission has also undertaken an initiative to alleviate the conditions of 32 percent of the population living below poverty line by launching the Micro Enterprise Development Programme.
The programme augments NCHD's literacy programme by providing the next step for the new literacy graduates to pursue income-generating activities," he added.
The GM said the commission was also preparing strategies and programmes of assistance for existing government line departments, CSOs and elected representatives in order to develop their capacities.
Dr Ajmal Khan, General Manager of HDSU at Narowal highlighted the case study of his area and the success achieved since the start of three-year programme in November 2002.