Implications of the Global Financial Crisis for NGOs Working toward Education for All - Pakistan

As the world begins to recover from the worst ever global economic crisis (2008) since the great depression, there is an urgency to document the impact of the crisis within country specific contexts on EFA goals, as experienced by the civil society organizations (CSO) CSOs perform multiple roles, as innovators, implementers, critics and technical partners of the government. Pakistan, home to over 166 million people is engulfed by complex multi-layered challenges, not just of economics and governance, but of continuing extremism, violence, emergencies, displacement and disenfranchisement, leading inevitably to low social sector indicators. Its Human Development Index ranking slipped three places from 141 to 138 from the previous year, according to the Human Development Report 2009 (UNDP). The purpose of this country case study from Pakistan is to identify and illustrate the key challenges and opportunities of the current global context for national NGOs working in education. The country case studies feeds into the final synthesis reports being prepared for the next CCNGO/EFA meeting. The case study highlights the NGO perspectives for UNESCO and UIS on the effects of the crisis on education provision and funding.