ISLAMABAD, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Shazia Marri said that ongoing severe floods in Pakistan have reiterated the need to invest more in social protection and develop resilience to address inequalities in the country.
The minister made the remarks while addressing a policy dialogue focusing on economic policies for an inclusive recovery and development organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, an Islamabad-based think-tank, here on Thursday.
The floods have rendered heavy life and financial losses to Pakistan, Marri said, adding that the country needs a major shift in its macroeconomic policies to streamline the recovery phase.
Mehnaz Akbar Aziz, a member of the National Assembly, emphasized the need to strengthen people-to-people contacts, and the local government system in these testing times.
She said it was imperative to include youths, women, children and minorities in debates on economic policies to ensure their inclusivity and to align them with the real-time needs of people.
It's time to scale up investment in the health and education sector to address social and economic inequalities, Aziz added.
"We must focus on job creation and making fiscal space for entrepreneurship for this purpose," she said. ■
