UK allocates £41.5m in development assistance to Pakistan for FY24
The United Kingdom will provide £41.5 million in bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Pakistan for the year 2023-24, with a focus on accelerated family planning, girls’ education, and revenue mobilisation, investment and trade, a statement from the British High Commission in Islamabad said.
According to the statement issued on Tuesday, the new Pakistan Country Development Partnership Summary (CDPS), published by UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, set out a refreshed approach to the UK-Pakistan development partnership.
The new CDPS shows an indicative ODA budget of £133 million pounds for the financial year 2024-25.
“The strategy underlines UK’s transition from a traditional aid relationship to a UK-Pakistan partnership for mutual benefit. It aims to unlock progress against Pakistan’s constraints to growth including population dynamics, climate vulnerability, gender equality and the structure of the economy,” it added.
The annual report also indicates likely significant growth in UK-Pakistan ODA in fiscal year 2024-25, based on an expected increase in FCDO’s overall ODA budget next year.
The UK has provisionally allocated a greater share of next year’s ODA to Pakistan, reflecting the aim of boosting efforts to strengthen climate resilience and reduce humanitarian risks following last year’s devastating floods.
According to the statement, 56 per cent of the programmes under the CDPS are primarily or significantly geared towards promoting gender equality, and 26pc of the programs are primarily or significantly focused on disability inclusion.
It added that the CDPS was aligned with Pakistan’s long-term development strategies and sustainable development goals.
“The strategy’s objectives are to deliver a step change in human capital; support Pakistan to adopt a more resilient and cleaner growth path; support Pakistan to become a more open society; and promote macroeconomic stability, private sector-led growth and resilience to climate shocks.”
The statement mentioned that the CDPS also covered programming under the UK’s Conflict Stability and Security Fund which underpins UK-Pak co-operation on organised crime, regional stability and hate speech.
The budgeted expenditure for 2023 to 2024 includes top three bilateral aid programmes which are delivering accelerated family planning in Pakistan (DAFPAK); girls and out-of-school action for learning (GOAL) and revenue mobilization, investment and trade (REMIT).
DAFPAK aims to increase access to quality family planning information and services, particularly to underserved groups such as rural women. GOAL will support the governments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to improve education outcomes for girls and the most marginalised, while REMIT will support Pakistan to implement reforms that lock in macroeconomic stability and improve conditions for high and sustained growth, mutual prosperity, job creation and poverty reduction.
The UK will use its full relationship with Pakistan — development, diplomatic, defence and people-to-people links — to help deliver these objectives, the statement added.
“We will work with Pakistan to unlock progress against critical challenges, which include population dynamics, climate vulnerability and the economy,” Development Director at the British High Commission, Jo Moir, said.