29th SDPI Conference: Factors to bridge widening social-sector funding gap pinpointed

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan needs fundamental structural reforms, mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR) legislation and innovative financing mechanisms to bridge the widening social-sector funding gap, while international financial institutions are seeking tangible implementation and measurable results rather than reform announcements, experts said on Tuesday.

Addressing different sessions of the 29th Sustainable Development Conference organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), policymakers, parliamentarians and international development partners called for greater private-sector investment, improved public expenditure efficiency, regional cooperation, women’s economic empowerment and stronger institutional capacity to achieve sustainable development.

At a session titled “Financing the Future: Private Capital for Pakistan’s Social Sector”, Adviser to the Finance Minister Adnan Pasha said Pakistan needed fundamental structural reforms, adding that international financial institutions, including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB), wanted to see actual implementation and concrete outcomes rather than announcements.

He stressed the importance of mobilising private-sector resources and corporate social responsibility to support social-sector development amid mounting fiscal constraints and declining external development assistance.

Water experts called for regional cooperation between Pakistan and India to address growing water-security challenges, warning that strained bilateral relations and disregard for international water agreements could further undermine regional stability.

Speaking at a session on “Water Security, Hydro-Diplomacy and Regional Peace”, SDPI Chairman Board of Governors Ambassador Shafqat Kakakhel described the Indus Waters Treaty as an extraordinary agreement that prevented a potentially devastating conflict between the two countries and helped establish principles subsequently incorporated into international water law.

Former Chairman Federal Flood Commission Ahmed Kamal warned that Pakistan could not afford to treat the treaty as a matter of history, particularly when India was pursuing eight projects on the ground.

He said one of the projects had already reached the bidding stage, with civil works reportedly likely to have started, underscoring the need for Pakistan to pursue its treaty rights through bilateral and international forums.

National Defence University academic Dr Shaheen Akhtar said regional cooperation had considerable potential to strengthen water security, although the suspension of SAARC activities and strained Pakistan-India relations had weakened prospects for collective action.

At another session, international development partners praised Sindh’s post-2022 flood housing reconstruction programme as a globally significant model of climate-resilient recovery.

Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF) Chief Executive Officer Khalid Mahmood Shaikh said construction had started on approximately 1.6 million houses, of which one million had been completed and handed over to affected families against an overall target of around 2.1 million homes.

WB Country Director for Pakistan Bolormaa Amgaabazar described the completion of one million houses within a few years as an unprecedented achievement, saying the bank planned to showcase Pakistan’s experience internationally to help other countries learn from its beneficiary-led reconstruction model.

She said the WB had prepared the housing project in just two months, compared with its conventional preparation period of approximately 12 months, attributing the progress to political commitment, government ownership and coordination between federal and provincial authorities.

European Union representative Jeroen Willems said Team Europe had mobilised one billion euros, mainly in grant assistance, following the devastating floods. He said the European Investment Bank had also signed a 100-million-euro financing agreement with SPHF, marking renewed project engagement in Pakistan after almost a decade.

ADB Country Director Dr Emma Xiaoqin Fan said the initiative offered important lessons for international housing finance, particularly by extending support to extremely poor households excluded from conventional banking systems.

She said the programme had generated wider benefits through financial inclusion, land access, employment and skills development. Around 1.7 million bank accounts had been opened, bringing previously unbanked households, particularly women, into the formal financial system.

MNA Shaista Pervaiz Malik identified five critical requirements for translating skills into economic empowerment: skills, safety, capital, markets and health.

UNDP Pakistan Deputy Resident Representative Dr Van Nguyen highlighted mobility restrictions, inadequate transport and childcare arrangements as major barriers preventing trained women from entering the workforce.

On energy transition, UNESCAP Sub-regional Office Director Mikiko Tanaka warned that the growing share of solar and wind energy was creating new challenges because of seasonal variations, inadequate transmission infrastructure and financing constraints.

Experts also called for stronger regional grid connectivity, institutional coordination and investment in transmission infrastructure to support renewable energy integration.

At a separate session on climate change, labour rights and just energy transition, Parliamentary Caucus Secretary Dr Syeda Shahida Rehmani said climate change disproportionately affected women, while Pakistan’s main challenge was weak implementation of existing laws.

She called for minimum wages, healthcare and social protection for informal-sector workers.

Speakers at a session on private-sector participation in climate resilience ahead of COP31 also urged businesses to incorporate long-term climate risks into financial planning and called for predictable policies and an investment-friendly environment to convert climate commitments into bankable projects.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026