Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) Chief Executive Officer Nadir Gul Barech and Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM) Managing Director Syed Imran Shah on Friday briefed the media at PTV Headquarters on an international conference scheduled for October 13-14 in Islamabad, bringing together representatives from 12 countries to explore sustainable solutions to poverty, promote inclusive economic growth and strengthen the resilience of vulnerable communities.
The International Conference on Inclusive and Resilient Economic Empowerment and Growth will be held under the theme “Poverty to Prosperity”.
PPAF is organising the event in collaboration with the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, the Centre of Excellence for National Cohesion and Outreach, and Paigham-e-Pakistan ahead of the United Nations’ International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17.
Addressing the press conference, Barech said lasting poverty reduction required a shift beyond short-term financial assistance towards a comprehensive approach combining social protection, skills development, productive assets, access to finance and stronger links with markets.
He noted that vulnerable households remained exposed to economic shocks caused by floods, illness and income losses, which could reverse their progress. Building resilient livelihoods, he said, was essential to ensuring that families emerging from poverty could sustain their gains over time.
Sharing details of PPAF’s economic empowerment initiatives, Barech said the organisation’s support for small and medium enterprises had contributed to the creation of more than 88,000 jobs. Under the Growth for Rural Advancement and Sustainable Progress (GRASP) programme, 399 small and medium enterprises had received matching grants to support business expansion and investment, while 803 had been registered with the Federal Board of Revenue or the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.
He said PPAF had transferred 206,800 productive assets to beneficiaries, with women accounting for 63 per cent of recipients. The organisation had also provided skills and vocational training to 501,500 people, including 45 per cent women.
Of those trained, 57 per cent had become self-employed, while 16 per cent had secured employment with other employers, reflecting the role of skills development in expanding income-generating opportunities, he added.
Barech said PPAF had also supported 35,290 community physical infrastructure schemes, benefiting approximately 17.57 million people through community-led initiatives designed to address local development needs and strengthen participation.
Under programmes supporting beneficiaries of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), he said, 334,000 beneficiaries had been supported or assessed, with 32 per cent identified as eligible for graduation from poverty. PPAF’s interventions had also been associated with a reported 106 per cent increase in average monthly household incomes.
Turning to PPAF’s wider community based work, Barech said the organisation operated in 157 districts through 164 partner organisations and had helped establish approximately 171,200 community institutions, connecting around 2.67 million people, 63 per cent of whom were women.
Since 2014, PPAF had facilitated 3.69 million interest-free loans worth Rs149.61 billion, with a reported recovery rate of 98 per cent.
Barech said the conference would bring together policymakers, international experts, development partners, financial institutions, researchers, civil society representatives, private-sector stakeholders and local communities to exchange practical experiences and identify effective approaches to inclusive and sustainable economic development.
Around 400 participants are expected to attend the two-day event to review progress in poverty alleviation, share evidence-based insights and identify practical solutions that could be adapted and expanded to benefit vulnerable communities.
Speaking at the press conference, PBM Managing Director Syed Imran Shah said the initiative reflected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s vision under the “Uraan Pakistan” programme, which seeks to advance public welfare and inclusive economic development by improving the lives of disadvantaged communities.
He said the conference would help bridge the gap between policy commitments and tangible results by strengthening collaboration among government institutions, development partners, civil society, the private sector and local communities.
Shah said women and young people were pivotal to sustainable poverty reduction and needed greater access to livelihood opportunities and economic participation.
He also highlighted the media’s important role in raising public awareness about poverty alleviation programmes and informing citizens about initiatives aimed at improving their socioeconomic conditions.
He urged journalists to report on the work and future plans of the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety and PPAF so that people could better understand the support and opportunities available to them.
The conference, he said, would provide a platform to review progress, exchange practical experiences and strengthen collective efforts to help people move from poverty to prosperity while enabling households and communities to withstand economic hardship and future crises.
Following their remarks, both officials participated in a question-and-answer session with media representatives, responding to queries about poverty alleviation initiatives, community empowerment and the objectives and expected outcomes of the forthcoming international conference.
Barech said the event would draw on Pakistan’s development experience alongside lessons from South Asia and other regions to identify practical approaches for sustainable poverty reduction, inclusive economic growth and resilient livelihoods.
He said the ultimate measure of success was not merely enabling a family to cross the poverty line, but ensuring it had the resources, opportunities and resilience to sustain its progress despite future economic and social challenges.
