June 28, 2008	Saturday	Jamadi-us-Sani 23, 1429

ISLAMABAD, June 27: A little over 73 per cent of Pakistanis still live below poverty line with the percentage of rural poor registering an increase.

According to a report launched by Mahbubul Haq Human Development Centre, titled ‘Human Development in South Asia, a ten-year review’, the progress in life expectancy in Pakistan during the last 10 years is the slowest in the region. Percentage of malnourished children under five years of age remains stagnant at 38 per cent compared to 40 per cent in 1994.

The report says maternal mortality rate per 100,000 live births increased significantly from 340 deaths in 1993 to 500 deaths in 2000. Incidence of tuberculosis per 100,000 population also increased from 150 in 1995 to 181 in 2004. Public spending on health as percentage of GDP also went down from 0.8 per cent in 1995 to 0.4 per cent in 2004.

Despite unprecedented economic growth in South Asia leading to a decline in poverty and a higher human development level, the total number of people in poverty has not gone down, and health and education indicators are still areas of concern, the report says.

The report, which is tenth in a series of annual reports by the centre, presents a comprehensive analysis of the achievements over the past one decade and challenges that still lie ahead in terms of human development of the region.

The report acknowledges that the huge human deprivations still prevailed in the region. Despite an overall reduction in poverty rates in all South Asian countries over the last decade, pace of reduction remains slower than the economic growth.

There has not been a significant decline in the absolute number of poor with the result that the share of South Asia in the total number of poor in the world has increased significantly from 40 per cent in 1993 to 47 per cent in 2004. Rural poverty still remains an area of concern in many South Asian countries and income inequity is on the rise.

In the area of education, despite improvements in literacy and enrolment rates, most indicators remain dismal, worse than any other region in the world including Sub-Saharan Africa. illiterate adults.

In terms of health, despite an improvement in the overall health indicators such as life expectancy and adult mortality, health indicators of the most vulnerable groups in South Asia — women and children — failed to show any improvement with the maternal mortality ratio actually worsening from 430 to 510 per 100,000 live births. The region continues to host the highest number of malnourished people in the world.

The report however argues that governments in South Asia have become much more aware of the significance of human development paradigm and the need to adopt people-centred development policies. “Rarely one sees a policy document that does not use as the baseline the indicators of education, health, women empowerment or poverty reduction, a rare feat not seen before in development policies,” the report says.

The report identifies some signs of hope for the region including unprecedented economic growth and historic transformation in the political landscape of most South Asian countries including Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives.

Highlighting the huge deprivations that prevail in the region, the report offers concrete reasons to be optimistic about the future of the region. And that for South Asia to become the next economic frontier is no longer an unachievable goal.

The report said in Pakistan, high GDP growth over the last five years had reduced income poverty in a significant manner and raised the average living standards, but the country continued to grapple with issues that are fundamental to improve its abysmal human development levels.

After a period of low growth throughout the 1990s, the annual growth rate figure for Pakistan has been hovering around the seven per cent level since 2003-04. The current growth momentum of Pakistan’s economy is largely the result of greater financial and trade integration and the good performance of the services and manufacturing sectors.

Although growth in GDP has received strong support from foreign direct investment, the overall saving and investment levels in Pakistan continue to be unsatisfactory. The share of agriculture in GDP has declined, implying that Pakistan’s economy is undergoing significant structural change.

The report says that Pakistan’s economy has to address several serious challenges. It says the rising inequalities have led to a weaker link between economic growth and poverty reduction in Pakistan. There has been a gradual erosion of the consumption share of the lowest 20 per cent and the consequent widening of the rich-poor gap.

Two-thirds of the rural households in Pakistan are landless and an almost similar proportion lacks access to tap water. In short, the seemingly high GDP growth in Pakistan is yet to be directed in an adequate manner towards the betterment of the deprived and the marginalised.