Finance Dept to make public investment in children more visible

KARACHI: The Finance Department, Government of Sindh, with technical support from UNICEF, is taking forward efforts to make public investment in children more visible, evidence-based and accountable by institutionalizing Public Finance for Children (PF4C) within the provincial budget system.

This forward-looking reform builds on the inclusion of dedicated PF4C guidelines in Sindh’s Budget Call Circular for FY2027–28, covering both recurrent expenditure and Annual Development Programme (ADP) schemes.

As part of the initiative, the Finance Department is conducting capacity-building training for government officials on identifying, classifying and reporting child-related budget allocations.

The training brings together officials responsible for budget preparation, planning and financial management from all administrative departments of the Government of Sindh.

Through practical exercises, participants are learning to identify expenditure that benefits children, classify investments across relevant programme areas, use evidence to determine the share attributable to children, and accurately.

The reform is expected to strengthen the government’s understanding of where and how public resources are invested in children, and improve the evidence available for budget planning, prioritization, transparency and accountability.

It will also lay the foundation for a provincial PF4C Budget Statement for Sindh.

The Finance Department will lead the PF4C budget-tagging process, including the review and consolidation of departmental submissions, while UNICEF will continue to provide technical assistance, knowledge support and capacity strengthening.

The four-day training was formally opened on 10 November by Kashif Ali Tipu, Additional Secretary Finance.

Sessions were conducted by Zulfiqar Mirza, a leading public finance expert, together with the UNICEF team. Syed Sajjad Imran, Social Policy Lead, UNICEF, reaffirmed UNICEF’s long-term partnership with the Government of Sindh for child-sensitive budgeting.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026