May 22, 2007	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 05, 1428

PESHAWAR, May 21: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is considering suspending financial assistance to the NWFP government due to poor utilisation of funds earmarked for the reproductive health care project in the province.

The NWFP government, in collaboration with the ADP, had undertaken a six-year project — called the “Reproductive Health Project” — in 2004 with an estimated cost of $4.2 million. The NWFP’s share was Rs93 million, of which it has so far utilised Rs1.8 million.

The project was designed to decrease population growth rate, infant mortality rate (IMR) and maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in the province. It was supposed to achieve the targets through capacity building of the public- and private-sector organisations, establishment of emergency neonatal and obstetric care services at rural health centres and provision of equipment to the seven target districts of NWFP. The target districts were Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Karak, Buner, Battagram, Upper Dir, and Tank.

Officials said the project was “imposed” on the federating units of the country without taking them on board at the designing, planning and implementation levels. The provincial government also showed a lack of interest in implementing the project without the availability of the services of qualified project director, deputy directors and other support staff.

The staff at the Project Implementation Unit were recruited without following the prescribed recruitment procedures, sources claimed.

“Poor implementation and poor performance resulted in dissatisfaction on the part of the donor during the course of the project,” said a health official.

Officials said the ADB, under the same project, was assisting the Family Planning and Population Welfare Department and National Programme for Family Planning in the Frontier province with the same objectives of curtailing the MMR and IMR.

A health directorate official associated with the project told this correspondent that a month ago his office had contacted the ADB for release of funds for purchase of some equipment for public health schools in Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan and Abbottabad.

“The official told us to hold up the project for the time being and wait till further orders. The federal government is considering closing down the project,” he said, quoting the ADB functionary.

The official said that during the past two-and-a-half-years all the provinces had utilised only $0.6 million of the total amount of $4.2 million pledged by the bank. The NWFP had achieved most of its targets, he said, but blamed the other provinces for stoppage of funds by the ADB.

“We have conveyed our views to the health secretary who is in the process of negotiations with the federal government and the bank’s officials.” A top health official confirmed that the project had been stopped, adding that his department was in contact with the federal government and the ADB over the issue.