Charitable donations needed for social development

Philanthropic organisations in Pakistan are calling on civil society to help channel charitable donations towards sustainable social development initiatives and so reduce the country's dependence on foreign aid. "Having an Islamic and charitable instinct, we make many philanthropic contributions but we don't have much visible impact, mainly because people are not giving in an institutionalised and organised way, instead a personal approach of giving directly to needy persons has flourished," Ali Raza, a programme manager at Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP), told IRIN in the capital, Islamabad. There is no proper documented source or survey to explore the nature and scope of charitable donations in Pakistan. However, a study by PCP, the only organisation working to promote philanthropy for development in the country, suggests that Pakistanis give away some US $1.6 billion annually to the poor, equal to around 2 percent of Pakistan's total GDP. The share of government tax collection through deduction of 'Zakat' (compulsory giving of a set proportion of one's wealth to charity) from public savings is about $65-70 million, while the rest is given from the private sector either by individual contribution or corporate giving. The unique pattern of giving in Pakistan reflects the country's own particular history, including religious and cultural influences. "More than 50 percent is donated during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan," Muhammad Ilyas Dar, joint secretary at the religious affairs ministry, told IRIN. Charitable giving in the country is contributing significantly in reducing and eradicating poverty. "It's the way we are helping the downtrodden people of our society, who make up around 34 percent of our total population of 148 million," Dar added. Philanthropists emphasise the need to exploit the phenomenal potential of charitable donations for social development in the country by shifting the mindset towards the idea of 'social investment'. "We don't have a mechanism here through which we can establish welfare institutions in an organised manner by regulating the individual giving," Dr Zaffar Moeen Nasir of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) told IRIN. "It [$1.6m] is a huge amount - no doubt, it can make a real difference and help Pakistan to end dependency on foreign aid, if it could be spent in some organised way for poverty reduction and social development programmes," Nasir added. Over the last decade, the number of organisations running public welfare projects in health, education and social sectors has increased a lot. However, public awareness of civic organisations engaged in social development is extremely low in Pakistan. "There is a vital need to raise public awareness about philanthropy and promote putting individual [donations] into the form of institutional giving," Raza said. In addition to traditional forms of charity to relieve immediate needs or assist victims of disaster or emergency, an initiative should be sought to find ways to direct indigenous charitable donations towards long-term social development, philanthropists say.