The Asia Foundation Celebrates 60 Years in Pakistan

0 The Asia Foundation

The Asia Foundation improves lives, expands opportunities, and helps societies flourish across a dynamic and developing Asia. We work with innovative leaders and communities to build effective institutions and advance path breaking reforms. Together with our partners, we are committed to Asia•s continued development as a peaceful, just, and thriving region of the world.

Table of Contents

Overview 3

1954 to 1964 A New Nation - New Challenges 5

1964 to 1974 Inspiring Leadership 11

1974 to 1984 Delivering in Uncertain Times 17

1984 to 1994 Fostering Good Governance 23

1994 to 2004 Empowering Civil Society 29

2004 to 2014 New Beginnings 35

Overview

Since 1954, The Asia Foundation has remained committed to Pakistan's development, providing continuous support throughout the country's varied history. In its early decades, The Asia Foundation contributed to the educational, economic, social, and cultural development of the country within the framework of national objectives established by Pakistan's government in its Five-Year Plans and other official programs. The Foundation has worked with a wide range of partners in government, academia, civil society, and the private sectors, and all programs have been conducted with the knowledge of the Economic Affairs Division of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs. This booklet describes the breadth of the Foundation's evolving assistance to Pakistan against the background of the political and social changes that the country has experienced.

During the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the Foundation focused on conducting exchange and educational programs to connect Pakistan's citizens with other countries and cultures, and to educate and equip its growing population to meet the country's unique economic, social, and cultural challenges. Higher education, social sciences, science and technology, labor education, community development and cultural heritage were the main priorities of the Foundation's work.

During the 1980s, the Foundation's focus shifted toward governance, private sector policy development, and legislative and judicial programming, in line with its strategy to promote open, just and democratic societies. In 1985, The Asia Foundation launched a 10 year parliamentary development program in Pakistan, building a modem library and information system and strengthening committee systems for the National Assembly, the Senate, and the four provincial assemblies.

The 1990s was a decade of turmoil and change, with

Pakistan facing new challenges in a changing world.

The Asia Foundation was one of only two American

NGOs to work in Pakistan with U.S. assistance. In

September 1994, the U.S. Government announced a

$10 million grant for a child survival and maternal

health program at the UN Cairo Conference on

Population and Development. Its purpose was to

strengthen NGO capacity to work with communities

for access to social sector services through

community participation, and women's

empowerment through improvements in maternal

health, child survival, and education.

As in the 1980s, Pakistan found itself in the middle of the global war on terror in 2001. As the decade progressed, rising militancy, sectarianism, and an insurgency in its biggest province began to affect the very fabric of society. The Asia Foundation increased its efforts on effective governance, particularly emphasizing election assistance, civic participation and government transparency as Pakistan again transitioned from dictatorship to democracy.

Currently, the most pressing issue facing the government and citizens of Pakistan is deteriorating security. For a rapidly growing population of some 180 million, access to energy, water, infrastructure, and basic health and education services present severe challenges. The Foundation's efforts are focused on bridging the gap between citizens and their government; fostering human rights and social inclusion, especially for women; and building the capacity of Pakistani institutions to meet local and national development needs. Over 60 years, the legacy ofThe Asia Foundation's programs has been to develop innovative programs to expand public services and improve governance, give voice to women and marginalized communities, and support the efforts of local organizations to address the significant development challenges facing Pakistan.

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The Aurat Publication and Information Service Foundation, an NGO established to collect, generate, repackage, and disseminate information for women, received assistance from the Foundation to develop effective financial management systems and practices. Core support by The Asia Foundation in 1996 proved crucial to the N aunihal Development Organization, a community-based NGOs working in Nagar and other rural parts of the largely overlooked and neglected northern Pakistan, to meet the needs of women and improve their lives in remote valley communities and semi-urban areas north of Gilgit, the region's largest town. In 1997, with Foundation support, the KashfFoundation, a Lahore-based NGO, established a micro-finance network of 10 NGOs to advocate for policy reforms related to access to credit, encourage growth of the micro-credit sector, and increase access to credit for poor women.

Health and Nutrition

Another neglected part of the country where The Asia Foundation made a considerable impact was Balochistan. The Foundation helped launch the four­year Balochistan Safe Motherhood Initiative Project in 1998. The Foundation designed and managed a research program that developed and tested community-based interventions to reduce maternal mortality in the Khuzdar district, one of Pakistan's poorest districts, and subsequently implemented a successful safe motherhood program in impoverished peri-urban areas.

Governance and Law

The Foundation's commitment to good governance and a transparent judiciary continued in Pakistan. Between 1999 and 2002 comprehensive diagnostic study was conducted to assist the government of Pakistan in improving the efficiency and workings of Pakistan's legal and judicial system. The goal was to make it responsive and relevant to a market economy

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by addressing key governance issues in the legal and judicial sectors. A series of key pilot projects were carried out by December 2002, contributing to the Asian Development Bank's $330 million "Access to Justice Program."

Democracy had started taking root in Pakistan in the 90s after years of military dictatorship, though it had been a difficult transition. The military coup in 1999 seemed to some another backward step in the country's volatile history, but many seemed to welcome the takeover. The Asia Foundation organized a series of nationwide consultations, a process that started in 1999 and continued through military rule. This included assistance to the government's decentralization efforts in order to improve services, access to justice, political representation, and gender equity. In addition opportunities were given to ordinary citizens to express their concerns to key officials on the new local government plan.

The Foundation recognized that an informed electorate was crucial to an electoral process, even one conducted under military rule. A nationwide voter education campaign was launched before the October 2002 national elections, with civil society organizations monitoring polling stations in nearly three-fourths of all districts in the country.

Education and Literacy

In the last year of the decade, The Asia Foundation worked with the Research Triangle Institute and other partners to reform Pakistan's inefficient education system through policy development and direct assistance at the classroom level. Technical assistance was provided by the Foundation in education sector policy and planning, access to education for women, public-private partnerships, and development communication.

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Design & Editorial: Ameena llahi

Editorial Support: Huating Wu, Amy Ovalle, Molly Mueller, Whitney Legge, Nancy Kelly, Nancy Yuan, Gareth Aicken, Veronica Qureshi

Photos: Sara Farid, Shafaat Ali Bhatti & Shahrukh Shafaat Bhatti, Bhatti Photographers (Website: www.bhattis.com.pk), Express Tribune Photo/Muhammad Javaid

Design & Print: Sign and Screen Graphics (Website: www.signandscreen.com.pk)

*Special thanks to Wasif Rashid for producing, editing and assisting in the design of this publication

The Asia Foundation House# 7, Street 58, F-7/4, Islamabad, Pakistan

www.asiafoundation.org

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