Technical Cooperation Amongst Developing Countries: The need for a Revitalized Effort in Pakistan

Background Paper For the Consultative Workshop to formulate a National Policy

By

Sohail J. Malik [UNDP Consultant TCDC] Chairman

Innovative Development Strategies (Pvt.) Ltd. Islamabad, Pakistan

December 2002

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Table of Contents

1 Background 1

2 TDC in other Developing Countries 2

3 Pakistan Tcdc Programme Phase Ii (1999-2002) 4

4 TDC Pakistan - Lessons and Recommendations 5

5 Towards a Revised National Policy for TDC 7

Appendix Table Experience with TDC Breakdown of TDC Expenditure

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1. BACKGROUND

The Government of Pakistan (GOP), in partnership with the UNDP, is committed to

promoting technical cooperation among developing countries (TCDC). Keeping in view

the continuing high priority accorded to the TCDC by the GOP and the sustained efforts

of the UNDP to make TCDC an integral part of its global development strategy, Phase II

of the TCDC project has been designed to build on the achievements of Phase I and to

strengthen the use of TCDC modality in the priority areas as outlined in the Country

Cooperation Framework (CCF) for Pakistan1. The first CCF (1998-2003) is being

implemented in all three of its thematic program areas i.e. Gender, Governance, and

Sustainable Livelihoods. The CCF emphasizes the use of the TCDC modality in

strengthening the overall efforts towards sustainable human development and poverty

eradication through partnership, capacity building, advocacy, and resource mobilization.

The overall long-term objective of the TCDC Phase II project is the promotion of

technical and economic cooperation between Pakistan and other developing countries in

accordance with Buenos Aires Plan of Action (BAPA) 1978. The immediate objectives

of Phase II are:

To promote the use of TCDC in current areas of CCF focus i.e.

governance, gender, and sustainable livelihoods.

To build capacity of the beneficiary institutions and the focal point.

As the TCDC phase II comes to an end it is important to review the TCDC experience in

Pakistan, conduct a rapid assessment of its impact and devise ways in which the project

can be made more efficient in achieving the universal goals of poverty reduction and

economic development. This background paper presents the basis for the setting up of a

revised policy for Technical Cooperation amongst Development Countries. Section 2

presents a summary of TCDC experience in other developing countries. Section 3

contains the description of TCDC in Pakistan, while the summary of lessons learnt from

the review of Pakistan activities and recommendations for the future is presented in

section 4. The key elements of the revised strategy on TCDC in Pakistan are presented in

section 5.

1 The CCF spells out the goals, strategies, and priorities of the GOP for the development cooperation with

the UNDP.

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2. TCDC IN OTHER DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

2.1 The Experience

It is noteworthy, that a number of developing countries are striving to achieve economic

growth through the transfer of experiences among them, particularly in terms of new and

innovative techniques and approaches to the organization of production to enable

increase in productivity output and overall competitiveness in the global economy.

Significant progress has been made through a variety of activities including training and

practical exchanges among developing countries which sought to address such issues as

poverty, the environment, trade and investment, job creation, the transfer of technology,

governance and gender. A number of specific interventions were also designed to

increase awareness of TCDC and to strengthen the capacity of national, regional and

inter-regional organizations in the promotion and management of TCDC activities.

Evaluations of the various experiences from around the world show that activities

implemented were for the most part well planned and executed. Cooperation amongst

various stakeholders including UNDP, NGO’s, implementing agencies and the

community was marked with coordination and planning for the promotion of TCDC and

in sponsoring a variety of activities as promotional instruments. Resources had been

effectively applied for activities which were successfully implemented and that they had

served to demonstrate the continuing relevance of TCDC as an important dimension of

international development cooperation.

TCDC has the potential to be an effective instrument of international technical

cooperation. However, there is a need for further work in terms of the identification of

successful experiences as a basis for their replication, particularly in priority development

areas of special concern to the developing countries. Some relevant examples /

experiences of technical cooperation amongst developing countries are listed in attached

Appendix Table 1.

2.2 Areas of training / cooperation

The experiences summarized in Appendix Table 1show the need for the adoption of a

more strategic orientation for TCDC; focusing on a number of high priority areas such as

poverty eradication, environment, investment, production, employment, macroeconomic

policy coordination, as well as health, education, the transfer of technology and rural

development and gender development. The promotion of activities in these areas is likely

to have a major development impact on a large number of developing countries.

Selected areas of focus of the program should be those which have had a demonstrated

impact in the past and which have the potential for replication in other developing

countries. Secondly, emphasis should be placed on the development of national, regional

and inter-regional capacities in formulating and managing TCDC initiatives of a strategic

nature. Thirdly, particular attention should be paid to TCDC initiatives, which have the

potential to support wider economic cooperation schemes among developing countries.

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2.3 Participation of Private Sector and NGO’s

Given the resource constraints of the Governments in the developing countries, it is

imperative that the private sector and the NGOs’ be encouraged to provide and allocate

resources for such activities. The Government should take the lead in encouraging the

private sector through facilitation of dialog amongst various stakeholders and may

consider providing fiscal incentives such as tax breaks etc. for the private sector and

NGO’s to come forward and undertake such activities. Governments in collaboration

with multilateral agencies such UNDP and the World Bank should provide for holding of

workshops/ seminars for providing training for participants from national and appropriate

regional and inter-regional organizations in the application of TCDC. Such workshops

should be oriented towards the identification of opportunities for practical TCDC

exchanges among participating countries instead of focusing exclusively on a theoretical

exposition of TCDC principles. An important aspect of this support is to facilitate the

dissemination of appropriate information and databases and provision of individual

experts, centers of excellence and innovative technical cooperation activities capable of

replication in other developing countries.

NGO’s have an important role to play in promoting specific interventions at the grass-

roots level and working with other civil society organizations and transferring techniques

aimed at stimulating increases in productivity output in the developing countries in order

to enable them to compete effectively in the global economy.

A special effort will have to be made to assign execution responsibility to national

entities as well as regional and inter-regional organizations representing the developing

countries in order to ensure that ownership and responsibility are vested in the developing

countries for the management of TCDC programs. By its very nature the TCDC Program

requires the multilateral agencies such as the United Nations and the World Bank to play

a predominant role but this should be one of support for the national and regional

initiatives.

Furthermore, various projects should be evaluated against clearly established qualitative

and quantitative benchmarks in order to facilitate monitoring, review and evaluation in

terms of actual outputs. The area requiring special attention is the creation of jobs and

sustainable livelihood for the achievement of sustainable human development since

stimulating an expansion of output is critically linked to the increase in employment and

income generation.

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3. PAKISTAN TCDC PROGRAMME PHASE II (1999-2002)

The main purpose of the second phase of Pakistan’s TCDC program (1999-2002) is to

exchange training, expert services and know-how among developing countries.

In line with the long-term objective of TCDC to promote technical and economic

cooperation between Pakistan and other developing countries, the project phase

contributed to the capacity building of various public sector organizations through

training programs that were based on TCDC modality.

During the period under review (September 1999 to September 2002), 51 participants

from Pakistan attended training programs mainly in China, Indonesia, Singapore, and Sri

Lanka. These courses were offered in a variety of fields including food processing,

electronic engineering, telecommunication and media, manufacturing technology,

housing planning, health, solar energy, and weather forecasting. In the same period

Pakistan offered two international courses on gender issues and human resource

development.

To disseminate information on project activities, a website of TCDC Pakistan has been

launched and information on needs and capacities of 100 Pakistan institutions has been

put on the internet.

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4. TCDC PAKISTAN – LESSONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The overall performance of Phase II has been modest due to a number of factors. First,

technical cooperation has mostly occurred in low-priority areas whereas sectors of major

interest to Pakistan have not received adequate attention. Second, the lack of effective

participation of the private sector and NGOs in the training programs has severely limited

the program’s outreach. Third, only a few countries have shared their technical expertise

and know-how with Pakistan through the TCDC modality. Fourth, the program did not

make tangible progress in promoting the use of TCDC modality in current areas of CCF

focus.

National Priorities

The CCF is designed to address the issues of poverty eradication and sustainable human

development through three broad program areas: governance, gender, and sustainable

livelihoods and the environment. In each of the three thematic areas, the focus is on

capacity building, alliance building, resource mobilization, and support to advocacy

activities. The TCDC modality has the potential to contribute to the capacity building

element of the priority areas outlined in the CCF. For a fuller utilization of this potential,

however, the training programs needs to be demand-driven, based on the countries

development priorities.

Global Trends

The current global TCDC activities of the UNDP are directed towards dealing with

myriad developmental challenges including social and economic uplift, promotion of

science and technology, protection and generation of environment, and improving

agricultural productivity. Global TCDC operations are also being increasingly focused on

major development issues such as trade and investment, debt management, and

macroeconomic policy coordination. UNDP has also made efforts to encourage the use of

TCDC modality in helping the developing countries to effectively meet the challenges of

globalization. On the operational front, the UNDP has emphasized the importance of

partnerships and networks among centers of excellence in pivotal countries, exchange

and replication of best practices, and the use of triangular cooperation modality in the

TCDC programs. There is a need to include these new modalities in the program’s new

phase.

Regional Cooperation

It is increasingly being recognized that south-south cooperation initiatives should not

only promote technical collaboration but also encourage joint efforts in social and

economic development. Consequently, more emphasis is now being placed on bringing

the TCDC within the broader framework of economic cooperation among developing

countries (ECDC). As Pakistan is already striving to achieve greater economic

cooperation with the developing countries especially through SAARC and ECO, efforts

are needed in Phase II of the program to facilitate integration of TCDC in these regional

arrangements. This would allow the country to broaden the scope of its cooperation

especially with other developing countries in the region.

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Millennium Development Goals

TCDC remains an effective instrument through which the developing countries can pool

their capacities to achieve the targets set at the Millennium Summit. Towards this end,

efforts must be made to design and implement technical and economic cooperation

programs having direct relevance to the Millennium Development Goals.

What is required is a coherent program that aims to strengthen the capacity of the focal

points in the design, implementation, and execution of strategic TCDC program activities

in line with Pakistan’s priorities and the global thrust of TCDC activities.

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5. TOWARDS A REVISED NATIONAL POLICY FOR TCDC (to be completed through consultations)

5.1 TCDC Policy Towards Income Generation and Opportunity Building

6.1.1 Small and Medium Enterprise

6.1.2 Agriculture and Rural Development

6.1.3 Trade and Industry

5.2 TCDC Policy Towards Security and Empowerment

6.2.1 Population Welfare

6.2.2 Health

6.2.3 Nutrition

6.2.4 Technical Education

5.3 TCDC Policy Towards Improved Governance

6.3.1 Institutional Reforms and Public Sector

6.3.2 Corporate Governance

5.4 TCDC Special Policy Aspects Covering Gender

6.4.1 Reproductive Health and Mother-Child care

6.4.2 Skill Development and Income Generation Activities

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APPENDIX TABLE – Experience with TCDC

Name of Country/Project/Program Types of impact (if assessed) Lessons learnt with

a) weaknesses if any and

b) strengths/good points

1. City Farming Innovations India

(Mumbai, Pune (innovative

package of workable farming

practices that enables city dwellers

to grow their own food on every

available square inch of urban space,

including terraces and balconies, if

they so desire.)

The impact of the practice of city farming is

clear. Following Dr Doshi’s lead, urban folk are

now growing their own quantities of vegetables

and fruits without having to depend all the time

on markets. Marketed food is expensive often

because the cost of transport has to be added to

it. It is also often hazardous: no one quite

knows what amount of pesticides and pesticide

residues will be found in the foods purchased

from the market.

Dr Doshi’s agriculture precludes the use of

chemicals and pesticides. For this reason, it is

also safe. Since it does not require much time

and money and relies on using wastes from

nearby sources, it is an important form of

sustainable agriculture.

Dr Doshi’s good practices could have a

significant impact on policies relating to food

production. Today, most governments have

fallen into the trap of relegating all food

production to the countryside. However, new

policies supporting such forms of urban

agriculture should now be entertained.

Urban farming brings the health and other

benefits (including recreation and physical

exercise) associated with rural agriculture to

In general, the techniques propagated are not

expensive and rely on materials available close

by. There are no requirements of heavy

equipment or even light equipment. But the

results are there for all to see and, if lucky, to

taste.

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2. Rearing spiders as biological pest-

control agents: India (designed to

utilise biological control agents for

control of pests without recourse to

toxic pesticides the impact of which

on health is well known. )

3. Sulabh Shauchalaya: Low-Cost

Sanitation: India (programme based on

fabricating a new design for low-cost

water-seal toilets and pushed these

through an imaginative self-financing

scheme. Carried out by an NGO Sulabh

city folk.

Farms of the kind raised by Dr Doshi can help

bring down prices in the market for obvious

reasons. Even if the vegetables and fruits

produced are not destined for the market, their

availability to several households in the cities

can help reduce scarcity generally.

The use of spiders in the domestic setting for

control of cockroaches would bring down the

use of the extremely poisonous substances

conventionally used to control such pests.

An agricultural programme that is based on the

use of predators like spiders would also create

suitable environments for the return of several

other beneficial insects which are unable to

tolerate the presence of pesticides.

Knowledge of the use of biological control

agents such as spiders can be easily transferred

from community to community. The

technology is simple and can be taught to

children, women and youth. It can also be

transferred to other countries when needed.

Wherever Sulabh technology has been

introduced, it has led to a remarkable reduction

in environmental degradation associated

normally with slums. The availability of

sanitary facilities dramatically reduces the

threat of water-borne and other diseases and has

W. The multiplication of biological control

agents is location-specific. Once local species

are identified, they can be multiplied as per the

available space and number of people. The

technology is simple and the practice can be

implemented in a small garage or one’s own

backyard. This technology can be important to

rural women and schoolchildren. The former

can undertake this as a private entrepreneurial

activity which can serve as a source of

additional income for them. This technology

can also be taken up by schoolchildren as a

hobby which earns them pocket money.

W. The principal obstacle to the propagation of

Sulabh Shauchalaya toilets remains the cost.

For the urban poor who most need the toilets,

the low-cost Sulabh toilet still involves money

and is therefore still out of reach. To some

extent, this problem has been addressed by

constructing a certain number of public toilets

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International was founded by Dr

Bindeshwar Pathak in 1970 in Bihar.)

4. The CPF: Mobilising domestic

savings for development:

(Singapore) Mobilising domestic

savings for development (The CPF

is a fully-funded defined-

contribution social security scheme

operated by the Singapore

government. Employees and

employers each compulsorily

contribute a specific proportion of

the employee’s monthly wage

income to be credited into the

employee’s CPF accounts. The

direct impacts on public health.

Such toilets improve the general environment

considerably. They improve the quality of life,

as women particularly need no longer have to

face the humiliation of having to defecate in

public.

The direct impact on the lives of scavengers is

even more significant. Sulabh is committed to a

complete elimination of the practice and to the

rehabilitation and retraining of former

scavengers. Wherever the new latrines have

been introduced, scavengers have been

rehabilitated and given new vocations. Even

when scavengers have been retrained to

maintain the new sanitary latrines, they find

they are in a considerably more respectable and

humane position.

A fully-funded provident fund scheme like the

CPF encourages (compels, in fact) savings,

which are an important ingredient of long-term

economic growth through their provision of

funds for investment.

The CPF has also developed further from its

early phase due to the continuous managed

investment approach underlying it. This

approach has proven to be a relative success not

least because of the double coincidence of

wants achieved as a result of judicious

management. The government has liberalised

the use of CPF savings in areas where members

and having these maintained free of charge.

However, most public toilets constructed by

Sulabh International are pay-toilets and users

must pay for their use on every occasion. This

invariably means that people will continue to

use open spaces for defecation.

S. Since the technology is simple and can be

fabricated at the village level through trained

artisans and masons, there is ample scope for

replication in other countries of the South. The

Sulabh revolution originated in Bihar, but has

now spread to practically all the states of the

Indian Union and abroad. For these reasons, it

can confidently be asserted that the Sulabh

Shauchalaya has long since passed the test of

replicability.

W. One of the main problems associated with a

compulsory defined-contribution social security

scheme like the CPF is the aspect of forced

savings it entails. Workers might not be too

pleased at not being able to make use of part of

their hard-earned income as and when they

deem fit, particularly so if their intertemporal

consumption preferences are positively slanted

towards current consumption. Such reservations

are likely to be felt especially at the start of

such a scheme.

S. This scheme, or at least many of its elements,

can be replicated in other developing countries

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employee’s CPF funds can be

withdrawn for certain specified

purposes over the course of his or

her working life. The remainder is

set aside for the employee’s old-age

needs.)

5. The Regulation of Foreign

Captial Flows in Chile (This

practice is intended to regulate the

composition of foreign capital

inflows into the Chilean economy in

order that the volatility which

typically characterises short-term

flows be reduced and that domestic

macroeconomic stability, as well as

Chile’s export-driven growth model,

be preserved.)

have a need for funds and through which, at the

same time, it can achieve a certain policy

objective. For instance, allowing members to

withdraw part of their balances to purchase

their own homes accords not only with their

desire for home ownership but also with the

government’s aim of procuring a sense of

stakeholdership among the population and

securing their political commitment

A major aim of Chile’s capital-market

regulations has been to discourage excessive

inflows of certain forms of capital, whilst

retaining the flows of long-term direct

investment.

Measured in terms of percentage of GDP, FDI

and longer-term portfolio investment have

grown in importance compared to foreign

borrowing

By contributing towards a more stable real

exchange rate and a more sustainable current

account deficit, regulations like Chile’s

facilitate the pursuance of economic policy that

is geared towards export-led growth. Indeed,

the growth and diversification of exports has

become the engine of growth of the Chilean

economy. For example, in 1995, exports grew

by 11% in real terms compared to real GDP

growth of 8.5%

that would like to increase the level of their

domestic savings and to channel these resources

towards investment in physical infrastructure

and social development, such as housing,

education and healthcare.

S. The Chilean system has significance for

developing countries that wish to better manage the

interface between external financial forces and

domestic macroeconomic and financial objectives. In

view of the present financial crisis, which has spread

from East Asia to other parts of the world, the

Chilean policies assume even greater significance

and are now often quoted as examples of prudent

management.

S. The Chilean policy recognises the need to

distinguish between long-term and short-term

capital inflows, and the potentially harmful

movements of short-term flows, and devises

practical mechanisms to reduce their volatility.

W. The main policy significance, therefore, is

that the measures contribute to the prevention

of excessive capital movements that could

cause damage to the economy through the

inflows of too much funds and thus the build-up

of foreign debts, their being channeled into

unproductive investments, the risk of large

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6. The Small-scale Textile

Production using Natural Dyes:

Bangladesh (In this project, clothes

are being produced with the use of

various forms of natural dyes.

Experiments to find the sources of

natural dyes and mordants are

conducted continuously. In this act,

farmers and weavers collaborate

together. The experiments are

directed towards making cloth

production cost-effective so that the

finished product falls within the

purchasing power of the common

people.)

This project is very significant for policy

decisions. In Bangladesh, there is no regulation

of the chemical-dye business. It follows the

regulatory framework of Germany. The

German regulation on Consumer Goods is

followed as a guideline to regulate the use of

hazardous chemical dyes. On the other hand,

the government is not taking any initiative to

increase natural-dyeing activities and to provide

support to the small-scale weavers.

The natural-dyeing practice is becoming

popular among a small group of entrepreneurs.

The only thing they need is training and sources

for dyeing and mordants. There is a very good

possibility of replicating the project in other

districts with weaving pockets. The small-scale

weavers are very much willing to take up such

work. Interested groups in other countries to see

whether elements of it can be usefully

replicated can study the experience of this

project.

withdrawals of the short-term funds and a

consequent debt crisis.

S. The measures also enable a country to have

better control over its financial and

macroeconomic policies.

S. The overall impact of the project is positive.

There is now a general awareness of the hazards

caused by chemical dyes to human health and to the

environment. In Prabartana, a more encouraging

response towards natural-dyed clothes has been

noted.

S. The factory produces yardage fabric with natural

dyes which is sold in Prabartana. There is great

demand among the middle- and upper-class

customers who are ready to pay a higher price per

yard of natural-dyed clothes. This is mainly out of

health concerns. But lower-middle-class people are

also buying such clothes nowadays

W. There is no competition between natural-dyed

products and those produced with chemical dyes as

the former still command a very small share of the

market. However, the natural-dyed clothes are sold at

a relatively higher price

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7. The Water-efficient Sugarcane

Farming: India (A series of extremely

intelligent modifications to the

conventional package of practices

associated with sugarcane farming

developed by Suresh Desai)

8. Gender and Biodiversity

Management in India. In 1997, the

Indian NGO, the M.S. Swaminathan

Research Foundation (MSSRF),

conducted a research project on "Gender

Dimensions in Biodiversity Management:

India" in different locations throughout

the country.

The propagation of this method of organic farming

for the raising of sugarcane, if made part of

government policy, would help in better allocation of

scarce resources and investments.

It would help improve the productivity of

sugarcane farms over the years as it would

remove the element of uncertainty that

presently dogs sugarcane production, largely

due to the unpredictability of water supply itself

as a result of the reliance of large water projects

on good monsoon precipitation.

As the methods tried out and tested would

improve sugarcane production in several farms,

the total output of sugarcane in particular areas

would not fall because overall efficiency would

be improved. Most important, sugarcane would

continue to be produced on a sustainable basis

and resources assigned now to expensive,

capital-intensive irrigation projects could

instead be assigned elsewhere. Water from

already constructed reservoirs could be

assigned to farmers who do not get any of it,

leading to enhanced employment opportunities.

One of the principal findings of the MSSRF project

in India was that gender roles are socially

constructed rather than biologically determined. The

studies found that there was much variation in the

tasks assigned to men and women in different

locations, with the same task like seed selection or

winnowing being done by women in some

communities but not in others. In areas of traditional

agriculture, among communities and classes which

S. The modifications to the package of practices

suggested by Suresh Desai are independent of scale

and can be tried on small and large farms without

any difficulty and with great benefit to all. The

modifications, however, will work better on small

farms as small farms, as a rule, are more efficiently

managed than large farms

S. The Suresh Desai technique of reducing water

channels and the raising of a ‘bio-film’ over the

planted area is a cheaper, equally effective measure

that can substitute for drip and sprinkler systems.

S. This gender analysis of the roles that women and

men play in managing natural resources is a

comparatively unexplored but crucial subject, which

allows us to re-think current practices and understand

the gender factors within them. Equipped with this

gender-sensitive knowledge, it should be easier for

us to prevent mistakes of the past and meet the

specific needs, opportunities and constraints of both

women and men in the future.

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did not practice gender seclusion, women's

participation in biomass-related activities was high,

and women's knowledge and interest in conservation

was apparent.

The research clearly pointed out that there is a

simple or uniform division of labour, skills and

knowledge by sex. Secondly, the research

demonstrated that age and education are

increasingly important factors in determining

gender roles and knowledge of the natural and

ecological resources.

According to the studies carried out at MSSRF,

the available literature on gender and

biodiversity provides the following indications.

Men and women have different kinds of knowledge

and information about plants and animals, in part

because they have different tasks in farming and in

providing income and goods for their households.

In many societies, women are mainly responsible for

seed selection and storage, as well as for exchanging

seed and ensuring that local agro-biodiversity is

preserved.

Both men and women preserve their native plant and

animal species. The motivating factors, however,

may differ. Men tend to be more interested in the

market value of the species, while women may be

more interested in their cooking and nutritional

value. In areas where there is out-migration of men

leading to the feminization of agriculture, women

tend to conserve a wide range of food and medicinal

plants for ensuring household food and health

security.

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The ways in which men and women have

traditionally managed their seeds, plants and animals

are fast changing. Government agricultural policies

often lead to a change in dietary habits, resulting in

tribal and rural families abandoning their traditional

foods. This is particularly true in India, where the

extensive public distribution system of the central

and state governments generally concentrates on the

supply of rice and wheat. Dietary changes also take

place when tribal families lose access to non-wood

forest products in habitats declared as protected

areas.

While women probably constitute the largest group

of farmers who have conserved and improved agro-

bio diversity, they often have no property rights to

land. Also, they tend to be bypassed by development

schemes relating to biodiversity. Women's

universities, Home Science colleges and other

educational institutions catering to women's needs

seldom include biodiversity as a field of

specialization.

The program has provided small production

units with the basic means for penetrating new

markets, enhancing and perfecting production

techniques and, thus, raising incomes.

In fact, the per-capita number of rural

production units processing foodstuffs at

income levels that do not reach industrial scale

has increased by an average of 100 percent.

Small family businesses, moreover, generate an

average of five direct jobs per unit.

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9. Appropriate Technology: Brazil

Brazil’s National Scientific and

Technological Development Council

(CNPq) is sponsoring a project to develop

and disseminate appropriate technologies

that have a scientific basis; are simple and

low-cost; and are easily assimilated and

accepted.

A reversal of migration flows from rural to

urban areas has been observed as rural

smallholders find opportunities for work and

employment in the countryside. Another spin-

off is the change in hygiene habits in

smallholder homes leading to healthier

conditions.

There is a noticeable change in social behaviour

and political perceptions among smallholders

participating in the program. Greater awareness

of their rights and potential leads them to

exercise their citizenship more forcefully, by

presenting demands, offering proposals and

taking responsibility for their small businesses.

In other words, they cease to be objects of

social exclusion and become active subjects,

taking the reins of their own destinies.

Several problems were encountered during

implementation of this innovative experience.

Collaborations with partner institutions made it

possible to overcome many of these.

Resistance and disbelief concerning the

project's viability, which were expressed at the

outset by some institutions and technicians,

were overcome by the political determination of

those responsible for it.

Smallholders’ initial limitations and lack of

experience in developing their own business

enterprises, coupled with an understandable

sense of insecurity, are being overcome by

investment in courses and training programs,

technical assistance, constant monitoring and

guidance. Adequate training of smallholders

has helped improve assimilation of

technological adaptations, which is a key factor

in success.

The limitations and resistance of technicians,

who are accustomed to rural extension projects

geared mainly to primary production, have been

overcome by the work of teams knowledgeable

both in the technological fields encompassed by

the program and in the management of small

businesses.

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Problems related to seasonal availability of raw

materials are being solved by means of

technical consultancy aimed at producing other

inputs and by using appropriate storage

techniques.

Because innovative experiences nearly always

encounter resistance, not only from the public

but from technicians and local authorities,

investments must be made to highlight

successful experiences in courses, lectures,

demonstrations, mass communication, visits

and excursions. Such efforts have a positive

multiplier effect in local communities because

local inhabitants admire and often purchase the

products of neighbours’ whose work is

recognized by others.

Use of indigenous natural resources and

management strategies tied to small-scale

production make it possible to generate less

waste material, thus diminishing harm to the

environment.

Regionalized production and commercialization

also cut transportation costs, saving energy. In

the case of agro-industries, preservative-free

foodstuffs provide consumers with healthier

commodities.

Experiences with small businesses have shown

that choice of the production unit must take

account of: the potential consumer market; the

suitability of the region in terms of availability

of raw materials; and the skill potential of

smallholders who will operate the unit.

18

10. Caring for People: Pakistan

Ziauddin Medical University's

Department of Community Health

Sciences, located in Karachi,

Pakistan, has launched an innovative

primary health care program for

people living in Sikanderabad, a

sprawling squatter settlement

adjacent to the university. The

program, which prides itself on

being community-based, is devoted

to education, research and service.

Officials hope that this initiative will

serve as a prototype for public

health programs pursued by other

medical universities throughout

Pakistan, which have to tackle

daunting public health problems

with resources that fall far short of

the challenge.

Project officials expect that over a three-year

period student-led family intervention efforts

will:

Reduce infant mortality rates by 30

percent.

Increase immunization coverage

among children under five by more

than 85 percent.

Increase oral rehydration therapies

among children suffering from

diarrhoea by 50 percent.

Raise contraceptive use among

adults by 20 percent.

Create a cadre of informal women

health activists from the pool of

women now actively working with

students.

Program advocates have emphasized the

principles of self-reliance and sustainability.

However, these principles were not shared

initially by members of the community who

believed that the university was receiving

S. Participants learn to work effectively in

partnerships, uniting public institutions to serve

excluded social groups. The state, meanwhile,

provides proportional subsidization in the most

underprivileged areas, giving priority to those

most in need.

The main obstacle faced by the program's staff

has been the community's reluctance to

participate in program planning and

development. The eight-member health

committee, formed right after the project was

launched, lost half of its members in short

order. The four members who remained on the

committee were simply too few in number to

fulfill the committee's mandate. This problem

was overcome by transforming a cadre of

young community volunteers, who had already

given a great deal of their time to the public

health center, into a general working group.

This group was given responsibility for making

day-to-day decisions and interacting with the

health committee members for the major policy

decisions.

Resources – or, perhaps more precisely,

citizens’ expectations of additional resources –

was another critical problem that stood in the

way of the project's success. Because the

university is a large private institution that

appears, in comparison with the community, to

be flush with funds, citizens anticipated that it

would make heavy financial investments in the

community's public health center. University

19

outside financial assistance that was not being

passed along to the community. The barriers of

distrust were lowered somewhat through such

activities as blood-pressure monitoring, which

was offered to residents free of charge in their

homes. The success of the university's polio

vaccination campaign also helped boost the

community's confidence in the university's

health care initiatives.

Young local volunteers are now being trained in

first-aid and other community-based health care

procedures. They are also being given hands-on

experience regarding the management of the

public health center. For example, on a rotating

basis, volunteers have been asked to manage

the center's finances and accounting.

Despite the progress that has been made, the

program still has a long way to go to achieve its

twin goals of community self-reliance and long-

term sustainability.

officials, however, emphasized self-reliance

and community-based sustainability. Thus, in

place of direct contributions, the university

offered a helping hand. Such differing

expectations led citizens initially to see the

project in a different light than project

administrators and staff. Not until after the

successful campaign to ward off a potential

polio epidemic did the two begin to see eye to

eye on both their strategies and goals.

Language is another barrier that sometimes

stands in the way of success. Most residents of

Sikanderabad are from northern Pakistan or

Afghanistan. They speak only Pushto. Women,

in particular, are unable to speak or understand

Urdu, Pakistan's national language. Language

differences cause a host of communication

problems when students enter the houses of the

local residents to whom they have been

assigned – usually at times when only the

women are present. To address this problem,

students have often asked a male child in the

household to serve as their assistant or, in the

most difficult cases, students have called on a

health care volunteer who speaks both Pushto

and Urdu to serve as a translator.

As mentioned earlier, women in Sikanderabad

observe strict purdah, which means they remain

completely segregated from males outside their

immediate family. For this reason, male

students can only enter a home and thus

actively participate in the project if a male

family member is present. It is also not a safe

practice to send female students alone into

houses. Each student group has included at least

20

11. The Village Bio-Electricity:

India The project concentrates on

technologies that generate biomass

and convert bioresidues into energy.

Management strategies have been

developed to use these technologies

as part of an economically

sustainable package to provide

lighting, drinking-water and services

such as the milling of grains.

The project has the potential to become

fully economically sustainable.

Biomass-generated

electricity often has proven more

reliable than electricity supplied by the

national grid. Villagers also have more

say in how it is managed and organized.

This alternative electricity supply

reduces pressure on the overstretched

national electricity supply, which is

currently 25 to 30 percent short of

demand.

one male student who has acted more as an

escort and data editor than a data collector. An

alternative strategy now under consideration

would allow students to collect information and

data in local schools instead of at the homes of

families.

First and foremost, the project shows that,

despite the initial suspicion and cynicism of

citizens, the project is unlikely to succeed in the

long term if the community is not actively

involved and does not assume responsibility for

at least some aspects of the process. The bottom

line is this: the more hands-on activities the

community is engaged in, the more likely the

project will continue into the future.

In the early stages, the project’s main problem

was how to find finances. Once it was under

way, the villagers involved started to believe

that it was a government initiative and that they

could enjoy its benefits free of charge. It wasn’t

easy convincing them to pay tariffs and,

although the collection rate has exceeded 90

percent, this continues to be a problem.

Another problem related to the fact that some

people saw the forest planted to supply biomass

as a source of timber for private consumption.

There were two major thefts of wood but,

because these were committed by politically

powerful people, the police did not pursue

them. This caused a certain amount of

resentment in the rest of the village.

21

People are more likely to accept an innovation if they

are kept well-informed about the project and can

what is going on. The free exchange of information

is essential.

22

Breakdown of TCDC Expenditures

PO Admin

Salary/Support/Sundri

es

7%Duty Travel

5%

Individual Training

Outgoing

54%

Training Pakistan

10%

Conferences/Meetings

/Workshops/Seminars

15%

Non-Expendible Local

8%

All Other NES

1%