Islamabad, 26 March 2019 — UNDP organized its first Advisory Council meeting for the Pakistan National Human Development Report (NHDR) on Inequality. The members included Pakistan’s foremost academics, technical experts, policy makers, and representatives from prominent political parties, all of whom provided valuable feedback on the report’s progress.

The NHDRs combine research, analysis, and policy recommendations to deconstruct themes of human development. With this in mind, Pakistan’s latest NHDR will be on inequality in the country.

The report will focus not just on income inequality, but also on the inequality of opportunity faced by some of the most vulnerable sections of Pakistani society. To this end, it aims to compute a multidimensional index of inequality at the national, intra-provincial, and inter-provincial levels. Qualitative research will also be undertaken in the form of focus groups and ethnographies, in order to get a more in-depth perspective of people's perceptions and experiences of inequality in Pakistan. The resulting policy recommendations will also align well with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal #10, which aims to reduce inequality within and among countries.

Dr. Pasha emphasized how the findings of the report are particularly pertinent at this time, owing to an increase in inequality in Pakistan over the years. He spoke about some preliminary findings grounding the report, such as the fact that 1 percent of farmers in Pakistan own 22 percent of all farm area. A more hopeful finding was that the share of labour in the national income is 40%, up from 35% in 2008-09. These are all axes of inequality the report hopes to expand on.

Ignacio Artaza, Resident Representative a.i., UNDP Pakistan said, "These reports enjoy full editorial independence and are an amalgamation of evidence-based research, human development measuring indices, and policy recommendations which are aligned with national priorities."

It was stated that the larger goal of the NHDR is to generate policy-level dialogue around the key themes of the report, and to compel the government, CSOs, and individuals to holistically work towards a more equitable Pakistan for all.

For additional information, please contact Momina Sohail, Communications Officer, 3rd National Human Development Report, momina.sohail@undp.org

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