The report is the result of aninter-institutional collaborative effort between theGovernment of Pakistan, civil society, and internationaldonors. This report finds that while Pakistan implements awide array of social protection programs, the effectivenessof these programs could be significantly improved. Thereport finds that social protection programs in Pakistanface important constraints in terms of coverage, targeting,and implementation, and inability to respond tovulnerability, which will need to be overcome in order thatthey can more effectively protect the poor. The reportsuggests a two-pronged approach for social protectionreform: (i) improving the ability of safety net programs toreach the poor, promote exit from poverty, and respond tonatural disasters; coupled with (ii) a longer term approachfor strengthening social security. Considering socialprotection as a system rather than a collection of differentprograms would allow the government to curtailfragmentation, improve the quality of social protectionspending, and have higher impact. Given fiscal constraints,the report suggests that coverage expansion first exploitsthe opportunity for efficiency improvements in currentprograms, through better targeting and reduction induplication and overlap. However, the decline in realspending on the two main safety net programs is worrisome.It is therefore welcome that the government is consideringhow best to ensure adequate yet fiscally affordable spendingon safety nets as part of its draft social protection strategy.
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