ISLAMABAD, Feb 12 (APP): Ambassador of Italy to Pakistan Andreas Ferrarese said that Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) was bringing a real change in the lives of less privileged people which was the main objective of the Italian government for lending the support to the government and the people of Pakistan.

He expressed these views while addressing an event titled ‘Celebrating the Impact of Community Driven Development’, organized by the Programme for Poverty Reduction (PPR) of PPAF here at a local hotel the other day.
The Italian envoy said that Italy wanted to enhance cooperation and ties with Pakistan in diverse areas including economic development.

The members of diplomatic fraternity, government, academia, civil society organizations and the representatives of the communities that were benefited by various initiatives under PPR made their presence on the occasion.
According to the participants, the PPAF in collaboration with the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), had played a remarkable role to usher in a new era of socio-economic development and the uplift of the communities in remote areas of the country.

The PPAF under the PPR, proved to be one of the most successful development cooperation examples for bringing a visible change in the lives of people from 14 remote and less developed districts of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, they added.

Sharing their stories, the representatives from the beneficiary communities informed about the multi-sectoral transformation, initiatives to strengthen indigenous culture, empowering youth, and creating value chains in fisheries, dates, and olive cultivation. Besides, developing community structures and providing quality health and education facilities to the local communities led them to achieve integrated transformation, they expressed.

Director AICS Pakistan Emanuela Benini was of the view that the collaboration under PPR had provided target communities better access to income-generating opportunities and improved civic amenities.
She said, the AICS aspires to lay the foundation for a strong developmental network in Pakistan and the development initiatives taken under PPR were the key reflection of our commitment toward this objective.

PPAF Chief Operating Officer Nadir Gul Barech while thanking the Italian government, said that the people of Italy and AICS were trusting the Pakistan government and PPAF for providing valuable support to uplift the communities living in the remote and most underserved areas of Pakistan.

He said with the generous support of Italian government, the PPAF successfully implemented the PPR in target districts of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as one of the major integrated local development initiatives.
The PPR was implemented as an integrated programme focusing on the socio-economic development of communities at grass roots level through the development of small infrastructure, provision of health and education services, skill development trainings and sustainable livelihoods opportunities for the target communities, he added.