Steps taken to reduce poverty: Zubaida

Federal Social Welfare and Special Education Minister Zubaida Jalal has said that steps have been taken to reduce the poverty, aimed at providing solid footing to the poor segment of the society.
In an interview with Business Recorder here on Sunday afternoon, she added that under the programme, many concrete measures were being taken to narrow gap between rich and poor.
Replying to a question, Zubaida Jalal revealed that according to a survey, about 2.6 million families were blow poverty line and the government was making adequate efforts to bring out those families from the clutches of poverty in the country.
The government was committed to implement the Social Protection Strategy, aimed at weeding out poverty from the country, she said. Zabeda Jalal said the prime concept of the programme was to bring radical and visible changes in life style of the poor families within three to four years in the country.
The minister disclosed that according to an assessment, there were total 104 districts where poverty existed, of which the poverty scale was much higher in 58 districts of the country.
The government had decided to provide micro-credit facility to the poor fragment of the society, enabling them to initiate small business and earn livelihood in a respectable way, she said, adding special arrangements were also being made to provide opportunities of education and skill training courses to children of poor families in the country.
To another question, Zubaida Jalal disclosed that at present 55 special education schools were successfully functioning in all the four provinces, and the Federal government was establishing two to three special education institutions in every province every year. The Special Education minister disclosed that the government had planned to establish special education institutions at tehsil and district headquarters of the country.
A detailed survey would soon be conducted in rural and urban areas evenly for assessing the needs of setting up special education institutions in these areas and appropriate steps would be taken for setting up such institutions at tehsil and district headquarters of the country, she said.