Achieving the MDGs
In 2002 the Government of Pakistan became one of the first countries in the world to establish a national public-private partnership devoted to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. This partnership includes UNDP, the Government of Pakistan, civil society organizations and private donors.
This long-term project focuses on three key areas vital to achieving the MDGs by 2015:
- Education: to ensure that children everywhere receive primary education by 2015, NCHD has launched the Universal Primary Education Program, establishing community based feeder schools to accommodate children unable to access government schools.
- Health Care: to improve healthcare services, particularly for maternal and child welfare, the Primary Health Care Extension Program trains local health care workers and educates community members.
- Civil Society: to engage Pakistanis in human development at the grassroots level, the Volunteerism Program harnesses the potential of individuals to contribute to development in their own community.
Despite the challenges faced in achieving the MDGs in Pakistan, UNDP and NCHD have already established a track record of success. In less than 3 years, they have:
- Enrolled nearly 1.5 million children in primary school.
- Established 9,121 community-based schools.
- Trained 1.4 million women in techniques to save children from dehydration.
- Vaccinated 300,000 women and children.
- Established over 9,000 adult literacy centers.
- Enlisted volunteers from over 30,000 villages to help support human development at the grass-roots level.
The US Committee for UNDP (UNDP-USA) works in partnership with UNDP and PHDF through the Global Resource Mobilization Program, identifying and leveraging private contributions in the United States, particularly from the Pakistan-American Diaspora population, to support the work of UNDP in Pakistan. To date, UNDP-USA has provided $1.4 million to UNDP Pakistan in support of the work of UNDP and NCHD in achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Pakistan.
