United States Agency for International Development

United States Agency for International Development

Broad-based economic growth is essential for sustainable long-term development.  It creates opportunities for impoverished households to raise their living standards, provides Pakistan with resources to expand access to basic services, and most importantly enables citizens to chart their own prosperous futures. USAID’s support to Pakistan through international partners such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is a step toward long-lasting sustainable development.

USAID engages with Pakistan through bilateral cooperation and robust civilian and security assistance, allowing joint action on issues that are important to both the United States and Pakistan:  energy, economic growth, resilience, education, and health. An array of partnerships with the Government of Pakistan, the private sector, and Pakistani civil society help ensure that assistance programmes are aligned with local priorities and build local capacity.  USAID seeks to develop transformational partnerships and practices, as well as legacy institutions, to ensure that assistance has a sustained impact beyond the implementation period of its programmes. 

Recognizing the importance of promoting peace and resilience among Karachi’s residents, particularly with youth, USAID collaborated with UNDP to implement the Youth Workforce Development Programme. This programme aims to provide workforce development training to nearly 17,000 youth, including adolescent girls from marginalized areas.   By creating employment opportunities for youth in the garment and home textiles industry in Sindh, this programme engages youth in productive economic activities that benefit their families and communities. To date, 70 percent of the trained youth have obtained employment in the garment sector.  

USAID has awarded a US$ 1 million grant to the Youth Employment Project, recognizing its role in consolidating positive social changes in marginalized communities, where young men are prone to violence and extremism. 

Jerry Bisson, the USAID/Pakistan Mission Director said, “USAID and UNDP share the goal of promoting peace and resilience, especially given Karachi’s significance for Pakistan’s economic prosperity.  I am pleased to see the progress that the Youth Employment Project has made in terms of working with the private sector as well as the Government of Sindh’s vocational centres to provide quality training and employment opportunities to the young women and men from marginalized areas.”

In recognition of the project’s success the Government of Sindh has allocated PKR 300 million for youth employment in its Annual Development Plan for 2017–2018 and has pledged to co-finance the second phase of the project through 2020.

In 2017, USAID and UNDP initiated the US$ 15 million FATA Economic Revitalization Programme to build livelihoods and robust economic growth in the long term.

Working in collaboration with partners such as USAID in all phases of the development cycle, from programme design to implementation, UNDP plays a crucial role in helping countries achieve their national  development goals.