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Bismillah-Ir-Rahman-Ir-Rahim.
Mr.
Shamsh Kassim-Lakha,
Honourable Donors to the Oncology Services Building,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is a privilege to be
amongst you all at a moment that is fortunate for the entire country. The Oncology
Service Building is a very needed and valuable addition to Aga Khan University
Hospital, an institution that has been serving our country for the last so many
years.
Pakistan is the realisation
of Quaid-e-Azam's dream. He envisioned a Pakistan where no one would be denied
their basic needs.
Aga Khan Development Network
(AKDN), Pakistan's largest, most developed and benevolent private
sector organization dedicated to serving an important need of the
country, epitomises the fulfilment of His Highness Prince Karim
Aga Khan's dream. Through it's continued and sustained efforts to
reduce poverty, increase access to education and health care and
develop rural areas, it continues to serve as a model and an inspiration
for the private sector to follow. AKDN's tireless effort to serve
the underprivileged in our country makes it a continuous beacon
of hope for Pakistan's less fortunate. AKDN serves Pakistan's entire
population regardless of race, creed, faith or gender, and in doing
so, continues to give the gift of life to our people.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Philanthropy is just not
the simple act of giving to the underprivileged. It is an ongoing process that
tackles root causes of poverty, inequity, and disadvantage. It gives hope to
the deprived. It inspires their faith in those more privileged, in humanity,
and in the social fibre of a country. It provides them with the assurance that
they are not alone and that the more privileged of the country care for them.
Improvement in the living conditions of the less fortunate provides opportunity
for the future generations to pull themselves out of their substandard existence.
In doing so, it becomes an agent of lasting institutional and social change.
But philanthropy can only be effective if it is genuine - if it actively listens,
learns, helps, partners, networks, develops and transmits knowledge in its effort
to reduce poverty.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Poverty needs to be addressed
holistically. The tragedy of the underprivileged in our country, for that matter
in any developing country, is that their poverty doesn't simply mean income
deprivation. Poverty is a multidimensional challenge, denying them the basic
economic, social and political needs necessary for a meaningful existence. The
poor in Pakistan lack access to education, health care, clean drinking water,
and proper sanitation. Denial of these privileges undermines their capabilities,
limits their ability to gain meaningful employment, and perpetuates the cycle
of vulnerability, powerlessness, and social exclusion. As Amartya Sen, the Nobel
Prize winning economist says, poverty infringes upon a person's basic rights
as it restricts the "capabilities a person has, that is, the substantive freedom
he or she enjoys to lead the kind of live he or she values."
With our increasing
population and the need for more investment in our social sector,
the present and future needs of our country are growing exponentially.
There is no escaping the fact that things we care most about: the
economic and civic well-being of our country, its people and its
institutions are increasingly under stress. We no longer have the
luxury of assuming that small acts of generosity can meet the needs
of our country. What we need is sustained and unrelenting philanthropy
- philanthropy that addresses specific needs, that builds capacity
that influences the entire system.
The Government of Pakistan
has shifted the focus of its development strategy. Poverty reduction is the
centre stage of our current economic policy. A comprehensive strategy has to
be evolved to target all the elements that cascade into inequality, human deprivation
and social exclusion.
We have developed an Interim
Poverty Reduction Strategy through a consultative process, engaging both donors
and local stakeholders. This strategy will constitute a new foundation for development
cooperation between Pakistan and the international community. It promotes a
more open and inclusive national dialogue on the most effective policies and
public actions for poverty reduction. As it is based on the two pillars of country,
self-help and support from the international community, this approach promises
to make our poverty alleviation efforts more successful and development assistance
more effective. Actualisation of these efforts will take time and strong economic
foundation.
Every one understands
that economic stability and growth is paramount for poverty alleviation.
The government is thus endeavouring continuously to stabilised Pakistan's
economy through its structural reforms, which include tax, trade,
social, agriculture and financial sector reforms. We are pursuing
growth driven policies through deregulation and privatisation. We
are focusing on improving governance and increasing fiscal transparency.
And most important of all, we are concentrating on human development
and social protection of the lower income group of our society.
Safety net for the less
privileged is being strengthened. To mention a few measures, Khushhali Bank
has been established to provide micro-finance facilities to the under serviced.
Education Sector Reforms are intended to increase access to better quality public
institutions all over Pakistan. Our health sector is being continuously developed.
Zakat and Ushr systems have been revamped. A food support programme has been
launched to supplement basic food provisions to the needy. Within the last year
alone, the Federal Government and Provincial Governments increased their expenditure
towards alleviation from Rs. 133.50 billion to 176.42 billion i.e. 32.52%.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The government's pro-poor
policies are a welcome step in the right direction, but due to its resource
limitations and financial constraints, it alone cannot address the overwhelming
and multifaceted task at hand. A partnership between Pakistan's public and private
sectors is the most effective way of tackling increasing poverty. Poverty can
only be tackled in a holistic and comprehensive manner whereby the civil society
makes an effort to complement government endeavours.
Just last week, I attended
the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, which was devoted to the theme,
'Building Trust'. In his address, the President of the forum, Klaus Schwab,
stressed, "trust is the glue that holds everything together, the bond that creates
healthy communities and successful businesses." In fact, a survey by the Forum
showed that 52% of the people worldwide are sceptical about the values of large
national corporations. They are disenchanted because they view these corporations
as selfish money making entities that are obsessed only with profit. We need
to re-establish this lost trust of our people. We need to win their confidence
and respect. A solid foundation for well-functioning societies requires shared
common values, mutual respect, and, above all trust. The burden of creating
this trust rests upon the private sector. It needs to take an initiative to
ally with the government in its venture, and it needs to do it by investing
in the people of Pakistan.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Many projects of Aga Khan
Development Network are models of vigorous and trustworthy private-public partnership:
a partnership that is reliable, effective, efficient and complementary. The
Network is an icon of excellence, a gift of life that Pakistan will always cherish.
Pakistan is also grateful to the many donors who continue to support this Network.
Let me conclude by congratulating AKDN for taking yet another initiative to
benefit all of us. Their support is an excellent example of corporate philanthropy
in action, of building trust, and a motivation for the entire private sector
to follow their example. I salute the private sector for contributing generously
to establish the new Cancer Centre. Pakistan will always be indebted to His
Highness, Prince Karim Aga Khan, for his faith in our people and their potential,
for his constant support, and for his relentless efforts to relieve the distress
of Pakistan's under privileged. Although he holds Pakistan very dear, his benevolence
does not end here. His philanthropy knows no boundaries - geographical, racial,
or religious. His foundation has an extensive impact in relieving distress all
over Asia and Africa.
Ladies and Gentlemen to
end I may quote, "We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we
give." - Sir Winston Churchill.
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