The role of the world bank in the social sector development in Pakistan

Abstract

This study looks at the role of the World Bank for the improvement of health and education facilities and poverty alleviation. It is important to analyze this role, because valuable resources are being invested for these purposes and if they are not making any difference then perhaps it would be wiser to invest them towards other ends. This argument becomes more important in the context of the World Bank because it is the most important player in the development sector. When the Bank gives priority to a certain area, other donors and NGOS follow. Hence, the Bank not only invests its own resources in that area but encourages the investment of other resources as well. This paper exammes the condition of health and education in Pakistan and analyses poverty in the country. It highlights the link between a lack of social services (mainly education and health) and poverty. The paper is divided into two sections: Section 1 looks at the development challenges facing Pakistan in relation to poverty alleviation and provision of educational and health facilities. This section also looks at the governments' efforts to tackle issues relating to health and education provision and poverty alleviation. It also looks at the policies and priorities for poverty reduction in Pakistan. 11 Section II focuses on the World Bank's role in poverty alleviation and improving health and education in Pakistan. It gives a detailed review of the World Bank's role in these domains by focusing on the various projects that the Bank is involved in so as to alleviate poverty in the country. This research study is descriptive in nature and the information gathered for this paper is collected through various secondary data sources such as journals, published records and websites. The information is also collected by the extensive use of the library materials of Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) and National Institute of Banking and Finance (NIBAF). The data collected from these above-mentioned sources was then thoroughly reviewed and relevant information was then compiled and included in the text of the paper. Due to the descriptive nature of this paper, the hypotheses are based on the secondary data gathered from the abovementioned sources. According to the findings of the paper, the conclusion drawn is that although the World Bank has dedicated considerable amount of funds for Pakistan and has involved itself in various poverty alleviation, education and health projects, the results have still not been substantial and the process of development has been very slow. Therefore, a lot more needs to be done to improve social services and reduce poverty in Pakistan since the situation is quite grave and hence, a great amount of focus and dedication is required in order to reduce poverty.