Following the refusal of Punjab Chief Minister, Mian Shahbaz Sharif to forego international assistance, the USAID held consultations with both the federal as well as the Punjab government and then decided to end four programmes with immediate effect.
These programmes supported Punjab government institutions with a total worth of 117 million dollars. The chief minister s decision is likely to affect the flood-affected areas the most, because the bulk of these programmes were being run there.
These include "Southern Punjab Basic Education" programme for reconstruction of up to 1,500 schools that were destroyed during the catastrophic 2011 floods, in five districts of southern Punjab. As much as $100 million had been allocated for this purpose, which have now been withdrawn.
Lady Willingdon Hospital in Lahore is Pakistan s largest maternity hospital, which is in extremely dilapidated condition. The USAID had endeavoured to renovate it with a cost of $16 million, including the provision of urgently-needed incubators, but it has also been stopped now.
Punjab Municipal Services Delivery programme for improvements in infrastructure and delivery of municipal public services, including safe water, solid waste collection and disposal, markets, sewerage services, streets and street lighting in urban and flood-affected areas with a cost of $10 million has also been discontinued.
The programme for providing "Technical Assistance to the Government of Punjab Department of Health" with one million dollars has been stopped too. Approximately $117 million in funds reserved for these programmes are now being redirected by the USAID to other projects around Pakistan.
However, the programmes in Punjab that do not provide assistance directly to the Government of Punjab have not been affected. The U.S. will continue such programmes that benefit the people of Punjab through partnerships with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the federal government.
Ongoing U.S. civilian assistance programs in Punjab include small grants to female entrepreneurs in flood-affected areas; rehabilitation of power plants; and distribution of treatments for tuberculosis, hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, and other diseases.
A USAID official, talking to Dunya News, about the Punjab government s decision said that "US government s civilian assistance supports the people of Pakistan and will continue to do so in close consultation with the government".
There are approximately 63 different projects underway across Pakistan in the five major sectors of energy, economic growth, stabilization, education, and health, under the auspices of USAID at the moment. Since October 2009, the US government has spent over $2 billion in civilian assistance to Pakistan, out of which over $1.8 billion have been disbursed through USAID.
- Contributed by Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Washington, DC
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