PPAF to assist Malawi in poverty reduction efforts

Commerce Reporter

ISLAMABAD: Malawi Social Action Fund (MASAF) has agreed in principle to enter into a wide-ranging partnership arrangement with Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) to seek technical co-operation from the fund's experience in water management, infrastructure, social protection, social mobilisation and drought mitigation and preparedness programs and from other PPAF interventions for poverty mitigation.

A four-member delegation from Malawi comprising Charles Elias Mandala, Acting Executive Director of MASAF, Harry Khumbo Sangwani Mwamlima, Director of Social Protection, Ministry of Economic Planning and Development, Cyrus Greyson Jeke, Ministry of Women and Child Development and Paul Weston Chipeta, Programme Advisor MASAF called on CEO/MD PPAF Kamal Hyat to explore potential for provision of assistance and advisory services.

Kamal Hyat on this occasion said that as an innovative model of public-private partnership, PPAF would share its skills and technical expertise with MASAF for poverty reduction activities. He said that PPAF would facilitate MASAF in strategic areas as well. He said PPAF is looking forward to a multi-dimensional exchange of ideas and for a long-term relationship with MASAF on policy, programme and project levels.

The government of Malawi established MASAF in 1996 with credit from the International Development Association (IDA) as a part of poverty alleviation programme. It is designed to promote employment creation and provide social and economic infrastructure. It also finances self-help community projects and transfer cash through safety net activities. The project aims at empowering individuals, households, communities and their development partners in the implementation of measures which can assist them in better managing risks associated with health, education, sanitation, water, transportation, and energy and food insecurity and to provide support to critically vulnerable persons through funding of a variety of sustainable interventions.

PPAF is the lead institution for poverty-focused interventions in the country. Set up as a fully autonomous private sector institution, PPAF enjoys facilitation and support from the government of Pakistan, the World Bank and other international donors. The outreach of PPAF now extends throughout Pakistan and its microcredit, community physical infrastructure, drought mitigation and education and health interventions have expanded all over the country.

PPAF has partnered with 73 organisations working in 33,500 villages with more than 100,000 communities in 113 districts across the country. PPAF's cumulative operational activities entail over 2 million micro-credit loans (impacting 12.5 million with 45 per cent women beneficiaries and 100 per cent recovery rate), over 17,000 health, education, water and infrastructure projects (impacting 8.6 million with 50 per cent women beneficiaries), 250,000 trained individuals, staff and communities (42 per cent women).

In earthquake-hit areas, PPAF has issued grants to over 117,000 households and trained 107,000 individuals in seismic construction skills including training in reconstruction guidelines, timber frame construction, block manufacturing, masonry, plumbing and steel-fixing units. PPAF has also established a dedicated Water Management Centre with state-of-the-art Geographical Information System (GIS) facilities to plan and implement projects at the grassroots.