• Input into National Rural Development Strategy:

The Chairman RSPN, Mr Shoaib Sultan Khan, chaired the government’s Planning Commission Working Group on Rural Development in 2005. The strategy of the Group was incorporated into Pakistan’s Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF 2005-2010).

• Government Acceptance of Social Mobilization Approach:

The most significant outcome of the policy advocacy role of the RSPN and RSPN’s input into government’s poverty reduction strategy has been an official recognition of the RSP approach to social mobilization by the Pakistan Government. Evidence of this has been a Government of Pakistan publication titled Rural Poverty Reduction through Social Mobilization (2005-2010). This publication is a Supplement to Pakistan’s Medium Term Development Framework (2005-11).Click here to see Supplement to MTDF Following the publication of the supplement the Federal Planning Commission and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development approached the RSPN to design a country-wide project to mobilize rural communities. The project is currently in its final stages of approval (update November 2006) and aims to mobilize 2.5 million rural households into Community Organizations (COs) of women and men. These COs will be linked to Pakistan’s local governments for the delivery of public sector initiatives. It is a historic step by the government and a challenge for the RSPN and its member RSPs.

• Community Consultations for Poverty Strategies:

RSPN has been instrumental in informing government poverty reduction policies by conducting community consultations on the first and second Pakistan Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) of the Pakistan government. RSPN undertook these consultations through its member Rural Support Programmes (RSPs) across the country in 49 districts and with 121 Community Organizations. The first community consultations for the PRSP-I held in 2002-3 clearly highlighted the need for social mobilization for communities to have a platform to plan development activities and to link up to government and other service providers. click here << Link the page to the PDF file that shall be provided File Name: including_poor_in_PRSP.PDF>> for full report on INCLUDING THE POOR IN PRSP PROCESS. The second PRSP consultation were held in 2006 in 21 districts with 54 Dialogues with communities. The report of the second consultations has been provided to the Pakistan government which will make it public. The two consultations have assisted greatly in voicing people’s concerns on government poverty initiatives.

• Input into Pakistan Devolution Plan and Activities:

RSPN has worked with Pakistan’s National Reconstruction Bureau and had input into the drafting of the Local Government Ordinance (LGO, 2001), which is the basis of the Government’s devolution plan. Specific input was on guidelines on the registration and operation of Citizen’s Community Boards (CCBs), a component of Pakista’s devolution plan which seeks to ‘formalise’ organized community groups through their registration with local governments and their access to public funds for community-managed projects. Building on this work, RSPN signed an MoU with the Devolution Trust for Community Empowerment (DTCE), a non-profit company set up to build the capacity of CCBs, to support in forming and training CCBs (period 2004-06).

• As part of its efforts to link the work of RSPs with local governments, RSPN was instrumental in supporting strategic partnerships between RSPs and government. Noted examples were formal agreements between RSPs and local governments of Jhelum and Khairpur under which RSPs mobilized CCBs to access government funds and undertake projects in sanitation and water supply.

• A further innovation spearheaded by RSPN was a USAID funded District Grants Programme under which 37 projects across the country were implemented by RSPs and local governments, with contributions from the private sector.

• Influencing National Water Policy:

RSPN advised and worked closely with its partner the Lachi Poverty Reduction Project (LPRP) to plan and implement an advocacy programme to get government to recognize the important role communities have to play in developing and managing water resources. An International Symposium was organized at Islamabad in Feb 2004, which was followed by a workshop focusing on semi-arid areas at Peshawar, in Nov 2004. The Government has agreed to recognize the importance of community management in the National Water Policy, due for release in 2006.

• The President of Pakistan confers Award of Sitara-e-Eisaar on Chairman RSPN on June 29, 2006 for RSPN and RSPs work providing relief in the earthquake devastated areas.

• Pakistan President Musharraf confers national award on Chairman RSPN, Shoaib Sultan Khan: The President of Pakistan conferred the prestigious national award of Hilal-e-Pakistan on the Chairman RSPN on August 14, 2006. This was in recognition of 25 years of his dedicated service for improving the lives of the poor in Pakistan and South-Asia.

Earthquake Relief and Rehabilitation

• RSPN supported its member RSPs: ie the National RSP in Azad Jammu and Kshmir and the Sarhad (NWFP) RSP in the North-West frontier Province (NWFP) in their relief and rehabilitation work in Pakistan’s earthquake struck districts in AJ&K and NWFP. RSPN played a pivotal role by linking donors, philanthropists, the private sector and various projects to the RSPs in their community-managed relief efforts. RSPN has also been providing feedback to the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) of Pakistan on feasible ways of working with affected people.

• Reviving education in earthquake affected areas:

RSPN through the NRSP and SRSP implemented numerous projects in the education sector. RSPN and the RSPs worked with the governments of NWFP and AJ&K to set up temporary shelters for 228 fallen government schools, through a USAID project. RSPN and NRSP, through support from the Open Society Institute (OSI), set up 30 community-managed schools in AJ&K. Click here to see updates on earthquake areas education projects of RSPN and RSPs.

• Support in Setting up RSPs:

RSPN has been instrumental in providing support for the setting up of Rural Support Programmes in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. As a Network it is able to provide new RSPs with expertise from the RSPs and its own expertise in various fields, in order to assist in setting up similar, new programmes with government and donors.

• Earthquake Affected Areas Initiatives with RSPs:

RSPN has supported and facilitated its member RSPs to access relief and rehabilitation support since the October 8th 2005 earthquake in northern Pakistan. RSPN has accessed 10 donors’ projects for the RSPs and linked the RSPs to charity and philanthropists who flooded the affected areas in the weeks following the devastating earthquake. RSPN has been actively collaborating with Pakistan’s Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) on its policy of providing compensation for housing reconstruction in the affected areas. This has been and remains a challenge. RSPN and the NRSP are currently implementing a training programme (JSDF/World bank funding) for communities in AJ&K in seismic resistant housing.

See below for projects in earthquake affected areas

• Reviving education in earthquake affected areas:

Through partnerships with USAID, OSI, IDRF (Canada) and other donors as well as in close coordination with the Provincial/District Education Departments in the earthquake affected areas of AJ&K and NWFP, RSPN and the RSPs seek to revive education through a number of innovative projects introducing new concepts like the cash for work programme and creating a joyful learning environment in the schools. Some of the projects implemented by RSPN through its member RSPs in the earthquake affected areas are given below.