Islamabad: In order to “assist them in completing their degrees,” the US government on Tuesday announced 500 new scholarships for Pakistani university students from flood-affected areas.
The disastrous floods in Pakistan in 2022 ranked as the tenth most expensive climate disaster to strike a country in the previous ten years. Over 1,700 people died, 8 million were left homeless, and the floods cost the nation an estimated $3 billion. Over $9 billion was pledged by international donors at a meeting in Geneva in January to assist Pakistan in recovering from the floods, but as of yesterday, only 40% of those pledges had been met, according to the UN.
According to a press release from the US embassy in Islamabad, US Ambassador Donald Blome announced the scholarships at a celebration of female scholars’ accomplishments held by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in honor of International Women’s Day. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, HEC Chairman Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik, HEC Executive Director Dr. Shaista Sohail, Director of the USAID Mission Reed Aeschliman, university vice chancellors, students, and alumni were all present at the event. “The United States, through USAID, has supported scholarships for meritorious yet financially disadvantaged students to pursue higher education at top Pakistani universities,” the press release reads.
It added that in partnership with the HEC, the US government has awarded over 6,000 scholarships through the Merit and Needs Based Scholarship Programme.
“Sixty per cent of those scholarships have been awarded to women as part of the US government’s support for women’s higher education,” the press release stated.
“International Women’s Day not only serves as a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements made by our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, and daughters. It is also a call to action to accelerate gender parity and to dismantle gender stereotypes,” the press release quoted Ambassador Blome as saying.
HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed remarked that the US government’s support to strategic sectors in Pakistan, especially the higher education sector, was “commendable”.
“Not only have these scholarships helped secure university education for many underprivileged students, lifting themselves and their families out of poverty, they have helped supply Pakistan with crucial skills and knowledge sets to drive the economy,” he added.
“Pakistan has suffered from catastrophic floods where millions of people lost their homes and livelihoods. The humanitarian response by the United States and other donors is commendable. We welcome US support for flood-affected students,” the press release quoted the planning minister as saying.
Jennifer Andleeb, a scholarship alumna, shared the challenges she faced in attaining higher education and how her scholarship “transformed the trajectory of her life”.
“She emphasised that positive changes in society could only happen by investing in education, and that empowered, educated women are critical to ensuring a brighter future for Pakistan,” the press release reads.
