ISLAMABAD: The World Bank’s Human Capital Review Research Report has revealed concerning statistics about Pakistan’s healthcare and education systems.
According to the report, more than 23 million children in the country are currently out of school, whereas a large number of children suffer from malnutrition.
During the report’s release ceremony, the World Bank’s Acting Country Director, Gilles Dragoles, spoke about the lack of employment opportunities for women in Pakistan. Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal also attended the event and emphasized the importance of developing human resources for the progress of countries.
The report, which analyzed existing data, quantified Pakistan’s human capital crisis. Pakistan’s Human Capital Index (HCI) indicates that a baby born in Pakistan today will only be 41 percent as productive as they could be if they had access to full health and complete education.
This figure is enough lower than the South Asian average of 0.48 beside other neighboring countries such as Bangladesh’s 0.46 and Nepal’s 0.49.
The report also serves as a call to action for the country to prioritize investment in healthcare and education, as well as economic development and promoting gender equality. Without addressing these urgent issues, the country’s potential for further development and growth will be constrained.
Pakistan needs to invest in human capital
Mamta Murthi, the World Bank’s Vice President for Human Development, emphasized the significance of investing in human capital to foster sustainable economic growth and prepare the workforce for upcoming skilled jobs as a response to a recent report on Pakistan’s human development.
The report evaluates Pakistan’s human development outcomes and suggests a long-term commitment and consistent investments in human capital to improve them.
It also puts forth various recommendations, such as prioritizing family planning in all human development initiatives, investing smartly in people, tackling child malnutrition, reducing out-of-school children, and enhancing learning outcomes.
Pakistan faces daunting human capital challenges, with more than 20 million school-age children out of school, high levels of child malnutrition, and inadequate empowerment of women.
The report underscores the need for a long-term commitment and sustained human capital investments to address these urgent issues.
The headline: Pakistan faces human capital crisis as education and healthcare systems lag behind, says World Bank report.
