Islamabad, February 15, 2022 (PPI-OT):Madam Chair, The crisis triggered by the COVID-19 is a health crisis, an economic crisis and above all a humanitarian crisis. The pandemic has reversed decades of progress in social development, leaving more people behind, especially in the developing countries, least developing countries and small island states, and eroding the capacity of Governments to realize the 2030 Agenda and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

For an inclusive and resilient recovery from the pandemic, principles and commitments made at the World Summit for Social Development remain valid and are central to addressing emerging global challenges. Against this backdrop, it is of critical importance that eradication of poverty and hunger in all its forms in line with SDG 1 and 2 is at forefront of our recovery efforts at both the national and international levels.

At the national level, the Government of Pakistan is committed to creating a welfare state for an inclusive and resilient development and recovery from the pandemic. Reducing poverty and addressing food insecurity are the core objectives of our government’s flagship welfare programme, Ehsaas.

Despite resource constraint, the Prime Minister launched an 8-billion-dollar stimulus package – 3% of GDP – to provide support to 12 million households – the poorest and most vulnerable – with direct payments through Ehsaas programme.

Sixty percent – 8 million- of those households were headed by women. 5. During the pandemic, Pakistan’s policies of ‘smart lockdown’ and support to the poor have saved ‘lives’ and ‘livelihoods’ and has been recognized internationally. 12 million households were given immediate relief. While pursuing ‘people centric’ approach, we enforced ‘smart lockdown’ to save ‘lives’ and ‘livelihoods. The approach pursued by the Government has become a success story.

The Ehsaas programme is fully aligned with Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 2, and aimed at eradicating poverty and preventing hunger. Other elements of the Government’s inclusive development strategy are: shelter homes in several cities to provide them lodging and food for the poor and those in need; health coverage for the poor through health cards to provide health services free of cost; A Youth Empowerment Programme, Kamyab Jawan, aimed at empowering youth and enhancing their employability by providing them loans, imparting entrepreneurial skills and training on various professions; targeted subsidies to farmers, for seeds and pesticides, including a Kissan digital card for farmers to access multiple facilities in a transparent and efficient manner.

To ensure quick, transparent and direct support, all these social support programs utilize digital platforms and the National Identification Card database. Madam Chair, 10. Pakistan welcomes the progress towards the full implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and the Programme of Action through concerted action at the national, regional, and global levels.

Moreover, it is concerning that 20 years after the World Summit for Social Development, progress has been slow and uneven, and has suffered a major reversal due to the pandemic. With 400 million jobs lost and the addition of 120 million people to the 750 million living in extreme poverty, major gaps remain in fulfilling developmental needs of our people. 11. If the SDGs are to be achieved – especially Goals 1 and 2 – the international community must adopt an on poverty.

The developing countries can only do so if they are provided sufficient financial resources and liquidity to finance such programs for poverty elimination and social protection. As with vaccine inequity, the challenges in mobilization of finance for developing countries to recover from the pandemic illustrate the pervasive nature of inequality in the world today.

While $17 trillion have been mobilized for financial surplus in the rich countries, the developing countries are struggling to mobilize even a fraction of $4.3 trillion they need to recover from COVID-19 crisis.

The international community must mobilize this from all possible sources – debt restructuring; fulfilment of the 0.7 percent ODA target; redistribution of the $650 billion new SDRs; and larger concessional finance from the IMF and the multilateral development banks; only then will the world’s populations realize the SDGs, end poverty and be able to address climate change. I thank you.

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