“Pakistan: Places, Faces, Voices”

The year 2020 posed challenges unlike any the world has experienced before. These ranged from the direct impacts of the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which are overwhelming health care systems, to enforced changes in ways of working, to the economic impacts on large parts of the global and national economy, including major job losses and increased poverty. More than one year into the pandemic, the impacts have been devastating for Pakistan’s most vulnerable people, and concerted, focused and persistent efforts are needed to overcome setbacks and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

The Strategic Plan 2022-2025 describes how UNDP intends to work together with our partners to deliver what’s required of us in these extraordinary times. This bold, ambitious Plan is structured around “3x6x3” – 3 directions of change, 6 signature solutions and 3 enablers – a clear framework for where we need to head. Over the next four years, we will work with countries to expand people’s choices for a fairer, sustainable future. Helping to get us back on track to deliver on the SDGs.

UNDP launched its third Pakistan National Human Development Report 2020, entitled ‘The three Ps of inequality: Power, People, and Policy’, authored by Dr. Hafiz Pasha.

The report highlights why studying inequality is important for Pakistan, and how this issue has affected the country’s economic and social progress. It discusses how, despite the Constitution of Pakistan upholding equality and despite global commitments such as the Sustainable Development Goals, there appear to be two different Pakistans – one for the rich, with access to the best avenues and opportunities, and one for the poor, who have a narrow pool of choices.