United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is developing Pakistan’s fourth National Human Development Report (NHDR) on Leveraging Digital Transformation for Human Development, in line with the Government of Pakistan’s Vision 2025, and the UNDP’s own Strategic Plan that identifies digitalisation as an instrumental resource in addressing challenges in public service delivery; for enabling productivity and growth; as well as bringing about positive development outcomes in spheres where traditional approaches have not been effective.

 

The Human Development Report is a flagship publication of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Now published in over 135 countries, NHDRs are developed after an intensive country-wide process of consultation, combining data-driven research and policy analysis to explore themes of human development. The findings of the research exercise are submitted as recommendations for policy stakeholders’ consideration. Pakistan produced its first National Human Development Report (NHDR) in 2003, which focused on the theme of poverty, growth, and governance. This was followed in 2016 by ‘Unleashing the Potential of a Young Pakistan’ authored by Dr. Faisal Bari and Dr. Adil Najam, and in 2021 by ‘The Three Ps of Inequality: Power, People and Policy’ authored by Dr. Hafiz Pasha.

 

NHDR 2023 on Digital Transformation will explore how Pakistan can leverage digitalisation for enabling better outcomes in human development; analyse Pakistan’s political economy and the ecosystem surrounding digital transformation; and recommend policy solutions and pathways for shared prosperity and growth for Pakistan and all its people.

 

To create this knowledge baseline, UNDP in collaboration with Planning & Development Department, GoAJ&K has organised a focus group discussions (FGDs) on 16th May, 2023 at University of AJ&K Muzaffarabad that will help to: 

 

• Assess the impact of digital investments or the lack thereof on human development; 

• Understand how they can be leveraged for growth across economic, political, and socio-cultural sectors; and 

• Inform UNDP’s programmatic interventions in Pakistan’s digital policy sphere.

Students and faculty from Women University Bagh participated in this important discussion to give inputs for development of Pakistan National Human Development Report. 

Chief Foreign Aid, Planning & Development Department Me Ahmed Waseem Qureshi also participated in this important discussion.