Poverty and unemployment in resource-rich Sindh are, among others, key causes of rising crimes and bad law and order situation. Energy crisis like in other parts of the country has battered severely economic development in the province and put the wheel of economic activity in reverse gear.
There is, however, pressing need to launch programmes that will generate new employments, particularly in rural Sindh, where socio-economic indicators paint a gloomy picture.
Development experts say that while state of poverty and unemployment continue to aggravate alarmingly in Sindh, livelihood uplift programmes at all levels can help alleviate poverty as well as generate new employments to improve people’s socio-economic lives. Such livelihood programmes will have, surely, feel-good effects on socio-economic indicators and help improve law and order as well as crime situation in the province.
They also point out that rising food prices, poor health facilities, rise in water-borne diseases caused by contaminated drinking water and bad sanitation, slowed economic activities, bad lad and order situation, among other factors, have aggravated the state of poverty in the resource-rich Sindh.
Inadequate access to health and education facilities, safe drinking water and sanitation and consequent rise in water-borne diseases have contributed to deepen poverty and living standards of the people in different parts of the province, the speakers highlighted.
Such views were expressed at “Enhance Livelihood, Reduce Poverty” programme launched in third week of January 2012 in the poverty-hit Thatta district’s Mehar union council of the Ghorabari taluka by the Society for Conservation and Protection of Environment (SCOPE).
Riaz Hussain Sherazi, noted political leader and son of Sindh Assembly member Ijaz hussain Sherazi, said that such livelihood development programmes in Sindh’s poverty-hit districts are need of the hour to fight poverty, unemployment and crime.
“Livelihood enhancing initiatives at all levels are much needed to help poor people of the province improve their socio-economic conditions. Poverty is major cause of bad health and education facilities in most of the province and; thus, improvement in livelihood will be of great help for the poor people means improvement in health and education profile of the people,” he said.
Riaz Hussain Sherazi remarked that provincial government welcomes such initiatives of local NGOS as being taken by the SCOPE for fighting poverty and livelihood enhancement.