US Govt to continue its support for Sindh development priorities

KARACHI: US Consul General JoAnne Wagner, addressing a conference organized by the Government of Sindh Planning and Development Department has assured continued US support for Sindh development priorities.

The ceremony that coincided with launching of a report prepared by Sindh Development Forum (SDF) was also largely attended by representatives from the international community including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations, the European Union, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

During the moot, participants discussed nine development sectors which formed the basis of the recommendations made under each thematic area.

Thematic areas covered under SDF include agriculture, economic growth, education, energy and infrastructure, health and population, nutrition, public financial management, poverty reduction, and water and sanitation.

It may be mentioned on the occasion that with the active involvement of and funding by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the provincial Planning and Development Department had convened the SDF in Karachi in March this year.

The SDF itself has been designed to be a development policy and priority setting dialogue among Government of Sindh (GoS), the private sector and international development partners working in Sindh.

The recommendations from the SDF Final Report will be useful in establishing future GoS policy, development priorities and budget, said USAID Deputy Mission Director for Sindh and Balochistan, John Smith-Sreen.

He mentioned that USAID has several signature projects being implemented in Sindh including the Sindh Basic Education Program and the Municipal Services Program in Jacobabad.

A soon-to-be launched Health Capacity Building project in partnership with the Government of Sindh, as well as multiple other activities in health, education, agriculture, energy, job creation, community resilience, and economic development were also important components of the scheme.

The GoS Planning & Development Department provides oversight and support for the implementation of all development programs in the province including those supported through foreign assistance.

The Sindh Development Forum draft report was compiled by USAID and was presented to the Chairman of Planning & Development, Muhammad Waseem.

Waseem in his concluding remarks said the the event itself marked the completion of the final report and adoption by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.