PPAF shares commitment to inclusion at World Humanitarian Summit

Karachi, June 9, 2016: Qazi Azmat Isa, CEO of the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, participated in the first ever World Humanitarian Summit held in Turkey. The international conference focused on multiple global humanitarian crises and was committed to supporting people who are affected by natural and man-made disasters.

After 2 years of worldwide consultations, gathering the voices and input of 23,000 people in 153 countries, more than 9,000 participants came together in Istanbul to chart the future course of humanitarian action.

In total, the Summit brought together 173 Member States, 55 Heads of State and Governments, some 350 private sector leaders, and thousands of high-level representatives from civil society and non-governmental organizations.

PPAF took the opportunity to reiterate its commitment to advancing the cause of gender equality and empowerment to ensure that women are active, informed participants in humanitarian and development assistance and action.

Qazi Isa said, “We commit to never compromise on our value of inclusion, making gender equality an article of faith – a mandatory condition of partnership with 130 civil society organizations and over 570,000 community organizations which we have fostered – ensuring that 50% of all our interventions, from women inclusion in community organizations, to cash assistance during disasters, asset transfers, microcredit loans, health and education programs are provided to women.”

PPAF has been collecting gender disaggregated data, monitoring and evaluating programmes through credible third parties to ensure that the development work is impacting women.

He also committed to overcoming barriers to women’s participation and equality through culturally sensitive approaches – using pro-women examples from religion and indigenous culture to counter misogynist narratives and practices.

At the end of the Summit, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for commitments made to be taken forward for transformative change from the top down and from the ground up. He said, “The World Humanitarian Summit has been a unique event, in form as well as substance, dedicated to improving the humanitarian system and alleviating the suffering of millions.”

“We have the wealth, knowledge and awareness to take better care of one another. But we need action, based on the five core responsibilities of the Agenda for Humanity,” he stressed, referring to the principles that guided the hundreds of events organized at the two-day conference. The Summit called on global leadership to prevent and end conflict, uphold the norms that safeguard humanity, leave no one behind, change people’s lives – from delivering aid to ending need and to invest in humanity.