Investing in Human Capital Systems in South Asia: The Key to Sustainable, Inclusive, and Resilient Growth

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00:07 Welcome everybody.

00:08 It is so great to have you all here today.

00:11 We're looking forward to a rich and meaningful discussion

00:14 on how human capital investments are more important than ever

00:17 for sustainable,

00:19 inclusive,

00:19 and resilient growth.

00:21 To keep this session interactive,

00:23 we have opened a mentee poll,

00:25 so our audience can vote,

00:27 and so you can share your thoughts.

00:29 The instructions will be put up on the screen.

00:33 Please get your smartphone,

00:35 tablet,

00:36 or computer ready

00:38 and type in

00:39 HTTPS

00:42 www.menti.com.

00:45 The voting code is 537234.

00:50 The first question you will see

00:52 is how productive would an average child born in South Asia be

00:57 relative to their full potential.

01:00 The answer would be 100% if they did have full health and education.

01:05 The second question will be,

01:07 how much would learning losses caused by COVID cost

01:11 in terms of South Asia's GDP.

01:14 Please choose the option that you think is right and vote.

01:17 All answers are anonymous,

01:19 and we will reveal the results

01:21 after our first speaker.

01:23 So now,

01:24 let me introduce Axel von Trotzenberg,

01:27 the World Bank Managing Director for Operations,

01:30 to open the event.

01:32 Axel,

01:32 it would be great to hear your thoughts

01:35 about why human capital investments are critical

01:38 as South Asia moves towards economic recovery.

01:41 Over to you.

01:43 Thank you,

01:43 Lynn and Honorable Minister and distinguished guest.

01:47 Thank you for joining us to discuss

01:50 how investing in human capital

01:52 is critical to economic growth in South Asia.

01:56 Before COVID-19,

01:58 South Asia was the world's fastest growing region.

02:01 In 2019,

02:03 the average annual growth rates in the region was almost 7%.

02:08 South Asian people have been

02:11 at the heart of this growth.

02:13 Across the region,

02:14 millions of people work hard to support their families

02:17 and their economies,

02:19 but not everyone has the chance to succeed.

02:23 Even before the pandemic,

02:25 1 out of 3 children in South Asia was still stunted,

02:30 and 4 out of every 100 children

02:34 died,

02:34 not,

02:35 uh,

02:35 uh,

02:36 did not live beyond the age of 5.

02:40 COVID-19

02:41 risks erasing decades of progress in human capital.

02:46 Almost 2/3 of the new global extreme poor,

02:50 including many who became poor

02:52 due to COVID-19,

02:54 now live in South Asia.

02:56 COVID-19 related learning losses could cost trillions in lost earnings globally,

03:05 and between 2020 and 2021,

03:07 schools were closed for 250 days

03:09 in South Asia,

03:11 pushing millions of children

03:13 into

03:14 what we call learning poverty.

03:18 The pandemic also exposed the vulnerability of informal workers

03:22 who compromised 80% of the work force in some South Asian economies.

03:30 Investing in human capital.

03:33 The knowledge,

03:34 skills,

03:34 and health that people need to achieve their potential

03:38 is critical

03:39 to include economic growth

03:42 and poverty reduction.

03:44 Unlocking human capital

03:47 could supercharge South Asia's economic recovery and growth.

03:52 South Asia has fast tapped untapped economic potential in its people.

03:58 In Bangladesh,

03:59 for instance,

04:00 just 1/3 of adult women participate in the labor market.

04:05 World Bank estimates suggest that the GDP per worker in South Asia

04:09 could be a little over 2 times higher

04:12 if the quantity

04:14 and quality of human capital is improved.

04:19 Human capital investments today will be critical

04:22 to helping economies bounce back from the pandemic

04:25 in the medium term.

04:28 But investing in human capital

04:30 amid competing priority will take commitment

04:34 and political will.

04:36 And the World Bank is ready to help.

04:38 We provided a lot of financial and technical assistance to

04:42 help the countries and people of South Asia during COVID-19.

04:48 For example,

04:48 more than 857 million vulnerable people across South Asia

04:54 benefited from nearly $3 billion

04:58 for social safety nets,

05:00 which helped them buy medical supplies.

05:04 As well as food.

05:05 The bank provided $2.5 billion for 15 health projects

05:11 which helped 23,000 hospitals

05:14 and healthcare centers

05:16 provide better care

05:17 for

05:18 their

05:19 COVID-19 patients.

05:21 And across South Asia,

05:22 the bank provided 2.8 billion for 12 education projects

05:28 that expanded remote learning

05:30 and provided training

05:32 to benefit millions of students and teachers.

05:36 And we have provided more than $1 billion to support

05:40 vaccine purchases

05:42 and deployment

05:43 in six South Asian countries.

05:46 More than 82 million doses have been contracted using

05:52 World Bank financing.

05:54 The World Bank will continue to support our partners as they put in place policies

06:00 and programs that will both recover the human capital losses

06:04 and move human capital

06:06 development forward

06:08 in new and transformational ways.

06:11 Our goal

06:12 is to support,

06:14 is to support a people-centered economic resurgence

06:17 in South Asia.

06:20 And very importantly,

06:22 the World Bank will be a long term partner of all of you,

06:27 of you.

06:28 We will stand with you,

06:30 accompany you

06:32 in all your efforts to improve the human capital.

06:35 So we look forward to engaging with you on this agenda

06:39 and hearing your reflections

06:42 on how South Asia can boost investments

06:44 in human capital to drive green,

06:47 equitable,

06:48 and sustainable growth

06:50 for all its citizens.

06:53 Thank you very much and back to Lynn.

06:57 Thank you so much,

06:58 Axel,

06:59 for those insightful,

07:00 uh,

07:00 remarks that set the stage so well for our discussion today.

07:04 So now,

07:05 let me turn to the questions we asked earlier on the Menti poll.

07:08 Thank you so much for your votes,

07:10 and let's see

07:11 how,

07:12 um how you all responded.

07:15 All right,

07:16 so people um felt uh the majority was that 48%

07:21 would be the average uh

07:23 potential of a child born today.

07:25 And let me say that question is absolutely correct.

07:29 Um,

07:30 According to the World Bank's 2020 human capital index analysis,

07:34 using the pre-pandemic data,

07:36 on average,

07:37 a child born in 2019 in South Asia

07:40 could expect to attain only 48% of their full potential.

07:45 This makes South Asia the 2nd lowest region

07:48 in terms of its human capital attainment.

07:51 There are many factors that explain this,

07:53 but one important consideration is the relatively low

07:55 public spending on human capital in the region.

07:58 In 2019,

07:59 for example,

08:00 South Asian governments spent only 1% of its GDP on health.

08:05 This is significantly lower than other regions,

08:08 especially Latin America and the Caribbean,

08:10 where that share is close to 4%.

08:13 Unfortunately,

08:15 COVID has dealt a further devastating blow to South Asia's human capital,

08:18 which was already at a tenuous point at that 48%.

08:23 So this leads to our second poll question.

08:25 How much would COVID-related learning losses cost in terms of South Asia's GDP?

08:32 So here we have a pretty good distribution of,

08:34 of answers,

08:35 uh,

08:36 not an easy question to answer,

08:38 but the correct answer is $1.9 trillion US dollars.

08:43 This number demonstrates just a fraction of the

08:46 steep cost of the pandemic to human capital.

08:49 In addition to these causes of learning losses,

08:52 COVID has also led to enormous losses in health and social protection.

08:57 Unless this is reversed,

08:59 these losses could be permanent

09:01 and lead to a significant disruption in South Asia's economic growth potential.

09:07 So we do have one final question,

09:09 which will be open during the coming up panel section,

09:12 uh,

09:13 upon which we invite you to share your thoughts.

09:16 The question is,

09:18 what should be South Asia's number 1 priority for human capital investments

09:23 as the region recovers from COVID?

09:26 Please use only one or two words because we will display this as a word cloud

09:32 after the panel discussion.

09:34 Our vice president for Human Development,

09:36 Monta Murti,

09:37 will show the results of this poll after the panel discussion.

09:42 Thank you very much.

09:43 And now I hand over to the Vice President for South Asia at the World Bank,

09:47 Hart Schaeffer,

09:48 to moderate a discussion with key policymakers from South Asia

09:53 about how they are planning to invest in human capital

09:56 for sustainable,

09:57 inclusive,

09:58 and resilient growth.

09:59 Over to you,

10:00 Hart.

10:00 Thank you.

10:01 Thank you very much,

10:02 uh,

10:02 Lynn.

10:03 Thank you,

10:03 Axel,

10:04 and good morning.

10:05 Good afternoon.

10:05 Good evening to

10:07 all our guests,

10:08 distinguished guests and panelists.

10:10 I now invite our distinguished panel

10:13 to reflect on how their governments are

10:15 balancing the need between investing in people

10:18 and investing in other sectors to promote

10:21 equitable economic growth

10:23 at a time

10:24 of recovery from COVID.

10:26 We have about 45 minutes for this section,

10:28 and we have 7.

10:29 Panelists,

10:30 and

10:31 we will start with a round where I'll ask each one

10:33 of the panelists how their governments are going to approach this.

10:37 And after that,

10:39 we'll have a lightning round

10:41 where I just ask one question and I'll ask you to answer

10:44 in a very short 1 minute question to leave this with the audience.

10:49 For your main intervention,

10:50 you have 5 minutes and after 4 minutes.

10:53 you will see my pictures up on the screen,

10:56 which is a signal that you have one minute and I kindly ask you

10:59 to uh to come to to closure with your statement.

11:03 If that is OK with everybody,

11:04 then

11:05 let me turn now to the first panelist.

11:08 And as the first panelist,

11:09 we have the Honorable Minister Zannaid Ahmed Palak,

11:11 the Minister of State

11:13 for Information and Communication Technology in Bangladesh.

11:17 And,

11:17 uh,

11:18 Minister,

11:18 Bangladesh

11:19 has um

11:20 has just made effective one of the World Bank projects

11:23 uh that is focusing on enhancing digital government and economics

11:28 in um in the country.

11:29 And I wanted to ask you,

11:31 uh,

11:32 why did

11:32 Bangladesh decide to focus on human capital investments uh to further

11:38 enhance Bangladesh's

11:40 uh digital economy.

11:41 I think that is absolutely critical because we,

11:43 we all agree that South Asia uh can have a

11:47 lot of tremendous benefits by drawing in more digital technology.

11:52 And I would like to hear from you

11:53 how you see that,

11:54 um,

11:55 happening in Bangladesh.

11:56 Over to you,

11:56 Minister.

11:58 Thank you very much for your kind introduction,

12:03 dear World Bank colleagues and honorable ministers from Bhutan,

12:07 India,

12:08 Maldives,

12:09 and Nepal.

12:10 I'm delighted to be speaking at this high-level

12:14 virtual event on investing in human capital system

12:19 in South Asia.

12:22 The key to sustainable,

12:23 inclusive,

12:24 and,

12:24 uh,

12:24 resilient growth.

12:26 A topic very close to my heart

12:28 as the key focus of building digital

12:31 Bangladesh has been in investing in human capital

12:35 development.

12:37 The founding father of the nation,

12:38 Banguunhu,

12:39 Sheikh Mujib Rahman,

12:42 Believed that

12:43 the greatest asset of Bangladesh is

12:47 Its soil and its people.

12:50 We have had a very high population since our independence,

12:53 and many global experts

12:55 deemed that

12:57 to be our curse.

12:58 However,

12:59 Bangu Bunhu did not see it

13:01 that way.

13:02 He believed that the huge population of Bangladesh would someday

13:06 be our greatest pride and that exactly

13:10 what his daughter,

13:11 the current Prime Minister

13:13 of Bangladesh,

13:15 Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina has achieved

13:17 through the digital Bangladesh vision.

13:19 Bangladesh is at the crossroad of a population dividend.

13:23 The Majority of our population is under the age of 25,

13:27 and Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina envisioned that

13:30 the young generation,

13:32 if guided right,

13:33 would become Bangladesh's greatest strength,

13:36 and she believed in the power of youth to bring prosperity of Bangladesh.

13:41 Digital Bangladesh vision has been implemented under 4 pillars

13:45 digital government,

13:46 connectivity,

13:47 and infrastructure,

13:48 human resource development,

13:50 and ICT industry promotion.

13:52 Under the direct leadership

13:54 of the architect of Digital Bangladesh

13:56 and the ICT affairs advisor

13:59 to the Honorable Prime Minister,

14:00 Mr.

14:00 Shaji was a joy.

14:02 He stressed on the importance of human

14:05 resource development and under the ICT division.

14:07 In the last decade,

14:09 we have trained over

14:11 2 million people in ICT skills,

14:13 working closely in the education ministry.

14:16 We have also introduced ICT as a subject in primary and

14:20 secondary education,

14:21 and

14:22 with the universities,

14:23 we are supporting through providing them

14:26 advanced labs that help

14:28 the students

14:29 experiment with technology.

14:32 We are building

14:33 35,000 Sheikh Rassal digital labs across the nation

14:37 in schools and colleges that will provide

14:40 infrastructure support for the students to learn and excel

14:44 in ICT.

14:45 We're building Sheikh Kamal IT Training Incubation Center in district level,

14:49 which will provide ICT entrepreneurship training and incubation facilities,

14:54 also building

14:55 300 schools of Future and Sheikh Hassina Institute of

14:58 Frontier Technologies to groom the future.

15:01 Scientific minds of Bangladesh.

15:03 We have many projects under ICT division

15:06 focusing on developing human capital.

15:08 The World Bank has been a close partner

15:11 in some of them like the leveraging ICT

15:15 for growth,

15:15 governance and employment

15:17 and.

15:18 The support to Kaliakur High-tech Park,

15:21 Bangladesh now

15:22 boosts about

15:24 650,000 freelancers,

15:26 making its second destination for online jobs.

15:29 And these freelancers are accounting

15:32 for almost half a billion dollars in ICT

15:35 export revenue.

15:36 We are also

15:38 designing programs to

15:40 impart digital literacy to

15:42 the thousands.

15:43 Of workers temporarily

15:45 migrating

15:46 to different parts of the world

15:49 for jobs.

15:50 Bangladesh has over 10,670 million people,

15:53 of which 70% are under the age of 35.

15:57 Giving Bangladesh a very large workforce.

16:00 The Honorable Prime Minister

16:01 and her ICT affairs advisor,

16:03 Mr.

16:03 Sajibai Joy,

16:05 knew that if we can leverage this population,

16:08 the growth of Bangladesh will be phenomenal.

16:11 That is exactly why focus on investing

16:14 in human capital to develop digital Bangladesh and

16:17 is also a core part of our strategy to achieve smart Bangladesh by 2041.

16:23 Excellencies,

16:24 we have achieved Digital Bangladesh vision 2021.

16:28 The Honorable

16:29 Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

16:31 Next vision is to establish Smart Bangladesh,

16:34 and we're really happy to share

16:36 that,

16:37 um,

16:37 World Bank is helping us to develop our,

16:40 uh,

16:40 digital economy and,

16:41 uh,

16:42 government system,

16:43 ecosystem.

16:44 And,

16:44 uh,

16:45 we are really thankful to World Bank for helping us,

16:48 and,

16:48 uh,

16:48 we have introduced a new unique project enhancing digital

16:52 government and economy in partnership with the World Bank.

16:55 We're going to set up

16:56 Center for 4IR in different universities,

16:59 and also we are setting up innovation hubs in universities.

17:02 Finally,

17:03 I would like to

17:04 sum it up,

17:05 uh,

17:05 with a quote from Honorable ICT Affairs.

17:08 Uh,

17:09 I quote,

17:10 People of Bangladesh will be primarily working in the knowledge industry,

17:14 in the high tech sector,

17:15 providing knowledge-based services around the world and not just being a part

17:21 of the 4th industrial revolution,

17:22 but

17:23 leading the charge

17:24 for the 4th industrial revolution.

17:26 Find your own niches,

17:28 find your own innovations,

17:30 find new technologies.

17:32 Don't imitate,

17:33 innovate.

17:34 Thank you

17:35 for listening to me.

17:37 Thank you very much,

17:38 Minister,

17:39 and I'm very glad that you mentioned

17:41 the export potential because our analysis of the World Bank tells us that

17:46 the,

17:46 the potential of information technology exports is enormous for South Asia,

17:52 and it will help

17:53 the economies to grow and be on a sustainable growth trajectory.

17:58 Of course,

17:59 for that we need investment in education.

18:02 The other

18:03 side of the same coin is investment in health.

18:05 And for that we are going to Bhutan.

18:07 Um,

18:08 I welcome the Honorable Minister Leong Podesh Nwanggo.

18:11 Minister,

18:11 it's great to see you again.

18:13 Although it's on screen.

18:14 I wish it was in person.

18:16 And uh let me congratulate you on uh Bhudan's Effective combating of the COVID-19

18:24 crisis.

18:24 And I think we have all been watching

18:27 how your healthcare system,

18:28 your vaccination effort really has set an example for the rest of the world.

18:32 Now,

18:33 would you please share with us

18:35 what,

18:36 how you see investment in health supporting to

18:38 the long-term recovery and productivity in Bhutan.

18:42 The floor is yours,

18:43 Honorable Minister.

18:45 Thank you,

18:46 Mr.

18:46 Schafer.

18:46 It's always a pleasure to see you.

18:48 Uh,

18:49 before I start,

18:49 I would like to thank the

18:52 team at the World Bank,

18:53 uh,

18:54 for

18:55 contributing to this success as well.

18:57 If not for your generous support,

18:59 it would not have been possible.

19:01 Um,

19:02 we,

19:02 as,

19:03 as we speak,

19:04 I think we have vaccinated 99.9% of our eligible population with first dose,

19:10 and 97.5% of our eligible population with the second dose.

19:16 Uh,

19:16 we are rolling out the second booster as we speak,

19:19 and,

19:20 um,

19:20 uh,

19:20 so far,

19:21 I think,

19:21 uh,

19:22 it's been a huge success,

19:24 um,

19:24 under the benevolent guidance of His Majesty the King himself.

19:29 Uh,

19:29 more importantly,

19:30 I think,

19:31 uh,

19:31 the pandemic has taught us two lessons,

19:34 I must say.

19:35 One,

19:36 that we are very rich in

19:38 social,

19:40 uh,

19:40 capital.

19:42 Um,

19:42 I think the nation came together,

19:44 a lot of solidarity.

19:46 Um,

19:47 respect,

19:48 trust,

19:48 and confidence in the governance,

19:50 in the health worker,

19:52 so we were able to achieve,

19:54 um,

19:55 the,

19:55 the,

19:55 the result that you see today for,

19:57 for COVID management.

19:59 With Omicron today being very mild,

20:01 uh,

20:02 uh,

20:02 less hospitalization,

20:04 we are able to actually plan country's recovery as we speak.

20:08 Um,

20:09 so,

20:09 um,

20:10 but at the same time,

20:11 uh,

20:11 I think it was a realization moment for all of us that,

20:16 Uh,

20:16 there is a greater need,

20:18 uh,

20:18 to,

20:19 to build human capital,

20:20 uh,

20:20 uh,

20:20 for the country.

20:22 And this is where we are looking at,

20:24 uh,

20:24 a two-pronged strategy.

20:27 One,

20:27 immediately,

20:28 uh,

20:29 that needs to happen is we need to address

20:32 the unemployment among the youth.

20:34 Um,

20:34 and I know World Bank is also currently working.

20:37 Uh,

20:38 with the Ministry of Labor,

20:39 uh,

20:39 ADB is also working with the labor in terms of

20:42 looking at

20:43 how do we reskill our youth.

20:46 Uh,

20:47 demographically similar to Bangladesh,

20:49 Bhutan is also a demographically a very young

20:53 population.

20:53 Uh,

20:54 so,

20:54 so I think we have the demographic dividend,

20:57 uh,

20:57 on our side,

20:58 uh,

20:59 to invest in

21:00 reskilling our youth.

21:01 Uh,

21:02 His Majesty has this wonderful initiative of,

21:05 uh,

21:05 upskilling,

21:06 uh,

21:07 and reskilling our youth so that they are available,

21:10 uh,

21:10 for the 21st century,

21:12 uh,

21:12 productive work sector.

21:14 Uh,

21:15 so this is immediately that are happening in the country under the Ministry of,

21:19 uh,

21:19 Labor and Human Resource.

21:21 Um,

21:23 so my ministry in particular,

21:25 we are looking at it from the long term

21:28 investment,

21:29 uh,

21:29 in human capital,

21:30 and that,

21:31 I think,

21:32 uh,

21:32 the delegates here knows,

21:34 uh,

21:34 far more than I do,

21:35 uh,

21:36 that I think there is a greater need to invest in young children.

21:40 Um,

21:40 greater need to invest in mother and child.

21:43 Uh,

21:43 so when we took over the government,

21:45 uh,

21:45 we formulated a policy to accelerate,

21:49 uh,

21:49 mother and health child across the country.

21:52 And that,

21:52 that is where we call it,

21:54 uh,

21:54 the,

21:54 the,

21:55 the 1000 Golden Day plus,

21:57 uh,

21:58 program,

21:58 where we would,

21:59 uh,

22:00 provide

22:01 comprehensive,

22:03 uh,

22:03 mother and child health services.

22:05 Uh,

22:06 along with it,

22:06 the conditional cash transfers are also built into it

22:10 to encourage uptake of services.

22:13 Although we had fairly good,

22:15 uh,

22:16 uptake of mother and child services,

22:18 it is not uniform across the country,

22:20 so there are regional barrier,

22:22 uh,

22:22 disparities.

22:23 So this is through this project,

22:25 what we are trying to,

22:26 uh,

22:26 implement is rolled out and scale up,

22:29 uh,

22:30 uh,

22:30 mother and child health services across the nation.

22:34 So a child that,

22:35 uh,

22:35 from the day of conception till the child is 2+,

22:40 and,

22:40 and this is where Ministry of Health will be responsible

22:44 for this,

22:44 uh,

22:45 that time.

22:46 And then after 2.5,

22:48 we would hand it over

22:49 to Ministry of Education

22:51 for the ECCD programs that Ministry of Health,

22:54 uh,

22:54 Education will roll out.

22:56 Uh,

22:56 and the whole idea is that,

22:58 uh,

22:59 that we build the human capital,

23:01 uh,

23:02 from,

23:02 from the time of conception,

23:04 invest in our children.

23:05 And,

23:05 and I think,

23:06 uh,

23:06 there are many studies,

23:07 I think we need not quote the studies here that says,

23:10 if you invest $1 in a child's,

23:12 uh,

23:13 well-being,

23:14 uh,

23:14 early on,

23:15 I think we achieve the maximum,

23:18 uh,

23:18 return.

23:18 If the investment happens,

23:20 uh,

23:20 early on,

23:21 um,

23:22 in a,

23:22 in a child's life.

23:23 Um,

23:24 so this is one of the biggest projects that the

23:27 Ministry of Health is handling,

23:29 and this will be rolled out across the country in the most comprehensive manner.

23:35 Um,

23:35 and that will also give us an opportunity to look at economic empowerment of women.

23:41 Um,

23:42 if you look at the financial data right now for Bhutan,

23:45 uh,

23:46 women,

23:46 um,

23:47 having a bank account,

23:48 uh,

23:48 is significantly lower than men.

23:51 Um,

23:51 women have less financial literacy.

23:54 Women have less access to financial resources.

23:58 So through this program,

23:59 we

24:00 are not only,

24:02 uh,

24:02 investing in the child,

24:04 but we are also empowering

24:06 the mother

24:07 so that she's.

24:08 Financially independent,

24:09 and she's given these financial,

24:12 um,

24:12 investment opportunities in terms of,

24:15 uh,

24:16 um,

24:16 access to loans,

24:17 access to,

24:18 uh,

24:19 uh,

24:19 uh,

24:20 skilling programs so that she is independent,

24:23 uh,

24:23 that she has the financial independence.

24:26 And the financial literacy to,

24:28 uh,

24:29 to,

24:29 to,

24:30 to be able to

24:31 Uh,

24:32 productively participate,

24:34 uh,

24:34 in the developmental agendas.

24:36 So,

24:36 so this is,

24:37 um,

24:38 under the Ministry of Health.

24:40 Now,

24:40 if you look at the education sector

24:42 overall,

24:43 I think,

24:44 um,

24:45 may,

24:45 may I remind you of the 5 minute limit,

24:47 please?

24:48 OK,

24:48 thank you.

24:49 This will be my last,

24:50 uh,

24:50 so I think in the education sector,

24:52 what we have done is that,

24:54 uh,

24:55 uh,

24:55 we have made,

24:56 uh,

24:57 teachers the high,

24:58 the,

24:59 the,

24:59 the highest paid.

25:01 Profession,

25:02 uh,

25:02 in Bhutan.

25:03 So this is where we,

25:04 we are actually recognizing that investment in the

25:09 children

25:10 requires that they have a good education.

25:13 If you're thinking good education,

25:14 then we need to invest in our teachers.

25:16 So these are all programs that are targeted towards building the human capital,

25:21 um,

25:22 in,

25:22 in the country,

25:23 uh,

25:24 uh,

25:24 as we speak.

25:25 So

25:26 back to you,

25:26 Mr.

25:26 Schaffer.

25:27 Thank you.

25:28 Thank you very much,

25:29 Minister,

25:29 and I know that you have.

25:31 very passionate about this.

25:33 Because

25:33 I remember 3 years ago when I visited Bhutan and we met,

25:37 you told me about this program.

25:38 And I'm so happy to see that

25:40 this is really has taken off and it is setting an example of what one can do.

25:45 And,

25:45 and I'm very glad that you're linking it

25:47 to women empowerment because that is one area,

25:50 making sure that more women are participating in the economics

25:54 of their,

25:55 of their countries in South Asia is absolutely critical.

25:58 We are not going to India,

25:59 but we're staying in the region.

26:01 We are,

26:01 we are going to the state of Megalaya.

26:03 And um I have the Honorable Minister James Sama,

26:07 the Minister of Health and Family Welfare from Magalya State

26:10 uh with us.

26:11 And um

26:12 Honorable Minister,

26:13 you,

26:14 um,

26:14 your state has made um human capital as a priority for

26:19 economic recovery and for your development vision at the state level.

26:22 And I would like to invite you to share with us what particularly

26:26 you are doing,

26:27 how you bring this agenda to the fore.

26:29 Over to you.

26:38 I think your microphone is muted.

26:40 Uh,

26:40 we cannot hear you.

26:42 I'm extremely sorry.

26:43 Yeah,

26:43 I think,

26:44 am I audible now?

26:45 Now we can hear you.

26:46 Please,

26:47 Minister,

26:47 the floor is yours.

26:49 So,

26:49 uh,

26:49 as I was saying,

26:50 um,

26:51 you know,

26:51 uh,

26:51 that thank you so much for this opportunity.

26:53 I think just listening to everybody,

26:55 it's,

26:56 it's a great learning experience for us as a state.

26:59 And,

27:00 um,

27:01 uh,

27:01 we are a very small state in the northeastern part of India,

27:04 but,

27:05 uh,

27:05 you know,

27:05 we call Meghalaya,

27:06 it's just got a population of 3.2,

27:08 uh,

27:09 roughly around 3.2 million.

27:11 And,

27:11 um,

27:12 as a state,

27:12 we've also,

27:13 uh,

27:13 just like the rest of the world,

27:15 uh,

27:15 the COVID-19 pandemic,

27:16 um,

27:17 exposed the limitations of

27:19 our health,

27:20 uh,

27:20 our education,

27:21 and,

27:22 uh,

27:22 also the other social service delivery,

27:24 uh,

27:25 systems that we have.

27:26 And,

27:27 um,

27:28 though the pandemic uh challenged our local and state level capabilities

27:32 and capacities to prepare and respond,

27:36 uh,

27:36 it also provided us an impetus to reassess our priorities.

27:40 And as a result,

27:41 uh,

27:41 Meghale has recommitted to

27:44 adopting approaches and innovations that will

27:47 continuously,

27:48 uh,

27:48 um,

27:49 you know,

27:49 strive to improve the quality and comprehensive.

27:51 of

27:52 human capital services,

27:54 uh,

27:54 for its,

27:54 uh,

27:55 people,

27:55 which is why I'm very,

27:56 very happy that this,

27:58 uh,

27:58 program,

27:58 uh,

27:59 organized by the World Bank is touching on the subject of,

28:02 uh,

28:02 human capital systems.

28:04 Uh,

28:04 in 2021,

28:05 uh,

28:06 Megale approved,

28:07 uh,

28:08 a state health policy,

28:09 and this policy aims to bring out a three dimensional

28:13 positive healthcare model focusing on preventing.

28:16 On curative and enabling aspects,

28:19 the policy envisions a rights-based framework in providing health care,

28:24 uh,

28:24 for its citizens,

28:25 especially for the poor and the marginalized

28:28 on the demand side,

28:29 um,

28:29 you know,

28:30 uh,

28:30 uh,

28:31 uh,

28:31 uh,

28:31 based on this policy on the demand side,

28:33 we are actively looking

28:35 to engage local stakeholders and deploy a bottom up approach,

28:40 um,

28:40 and we are.

28:41 In the process of creating village health councils whereby a forum

28:47 will be formalized for discussion on various health related parameters.

28:52 This,

28:52 uh,

28:52 I hope,

28:53 will also help in generating awareness and allow for

28:56 active participation of the entire community.

29:00 The village health councils will also help to generate demand

29:04 for the health services in tandem.

29:06 With the government's efforts to address uh supply side challenges,

29:11 the idea is to bring about a sense

29:14 of ownership among the people about solving problems

29:18 that are often left unidentified or unaddressed,

29:22 and our state health policy has been adopted,

29:25 uh,

29:26 recently,

29:27 and we expect that um

29:29 all these village health councils will be in

29:32 place within the end of this financial year.

29:36 We also think that uh it is important to fill capacity gaps wherever possible

29:42 through the intervention of uh private partners.

29:45 This becomes especially important in rural healthcare,

29:49 and the state government has openly collaborated with

29:52 private partners like Grameen Healthcare and Apollo Healthcare

29:57 in our rural areas to

29:59 generate

30:00 demand for health services through their unique interventions.

30:05 Uh,

30:06 the state already has about 6 centers,

30:09 uh,

30:09 which has touched about 300,

30:11 uh,

30:11 villages,

30:12 and we plan to have about 20 more

30:15 such centers,

30:15 which will

30:16 increase the tally to about 1000 villages by the end of the year.

30:20 I believe that such,

30:21 uh,

30:22 collaborations are already bearing fruit

30:24 for,

30:25 uh,

30:25 as an example,

30:26 uh,

30:26 I'd like to mention,

30:27 uh,

30:27 one particular village by the name of Zhengjal,

30:29 which is in a rural area.

30:31 Uh,

30:31 it's in the district in Meghalia,

30:34 which is becoming 11 stop.

30:36 Medical

30:37 center specializing in the treatment of mother and child health.

30:40 Uh,

30:41 after the government,

30:42 uh,

30:42 we went into a partnership,

30:44 uh,

30:44 and collaborated with the Christian Medical College,

30:47 uh,

30:47 from a southern state,

30:49 uh,

30:49 in the part of India,

30:50 southern part of India.

30:52 An experienced team of pediatricians and gynecologists have already

30:56 been giving their services to the people of this area

30:59 for the last 2.5 years,

31:00 but we formalized this agreement with them,

31:03 and it's really bearing fruit.

31:04 And this year itself,

31:05 a critically ill 3 month old baby was

31:08 saved at this newly inaugurated subdivisional hospital,

31:12 uh,

31:13 due to the timely presence of a pediatrician.

31:16 Lastly,

31:16 uh,

31:17 drawing lessons from COVID,

31:18 we are creating a public healthcare.

31:20 At the community and system level,

31:22 calling them community gender health activists,

31:24 the CGHA,

31:26 and they will be community members who will be trained in public health matters

31:30 who can in turn participate in village health councils,

31:34 creating an on-round demand.

31:37 There are already over 1000 such partners

31:39 identified and trained at the ground level.

31:42 On the supply side,

31:43 we are looking to enhance the capability of the health,

31:46 social welfare,

31:47 and rural development workforce

31:49 on understanding the need for human development interventions.

31:53 The state has already signed a $40 million agreement with

31:57 the World Bank to improve the quality of health services

32:00 and strengthen the state's capacity

32:02 to handle future health.

32:04 Emergencies,

32:05 the project,

32:06 um,

32:07 the Meghalaya Health System Strengthening Project will enhance

32:10 the management and governance capabilities of

32:12 the state and its health facilities,

32:14 expand the design and coverage of the state's

32:16 health insurance scheme by the name of MHIS,

32:19 improve upon the quality of health services

32:22 through certification and better human resource systems,

32:26 and,

32:26 um,

32:27 enable efficient access to medicine and uh diagnostics.

32:32 Another fundamental aspect that becomes important for a hill state

32:35 like ours is the delivery of last mile healthcare services.

32:39 In the state we have about 450 healthcare subcenters.

32:44 May I remind you of the time,

32:45 please?

32:46 OK,

32:47 I'll just wrap it up,

32:48 and we aim to touch about 800,

32:49 uh,

32:50 subcenters within 2025,

32:53 and we've also deployed a smart village movement to empower

32:57 communities in the rural areas,

33:00 um,

33:00 you know,

33:01 so these are the kind of interventions that we are,

33:03 um,

33:04 uh,

33:04 we are,

33:05 uh,

33:05 you know,

33:06 uh,

33:06 bringing about,

33:07 and,

33:07 um,

33:08 I will not take much time,

33:09 but,

33:09 uh,

33:10 thank you so much for this opportunity

33:12 and,

33:12 uh,

33:13 thank you to the World Bank for,

33:14 um,

33:14 you know.

33:15 This,

33:15 uh,

33:15 organizing this program

33:17 and,

33:17 uh,

33:18 through this core mission,

33:18 we're also trying to,

33:19 uh,

33:20 hopefully demonstrate a new public health playbook that could,

33:22 uh,

33:23 get a state like Megale to reap the benefits of our,

33:25 uh,

33:26 demographic dividend,

33:27 um,

33:28 and effective human capital management,

33:30 um,

33:30 by achieving the transition from,

33:32 uh,

33:33 public,

33:33 uh,

33:33 safety nets to public security nets mechanism mechanism.

33:37 So thank you so very much,

33:38 Minister.

33:39 I really appreciate that you're sharing with us some of the on the ground.

33:44 implementation

33:45 successes but also challenges,

33:47 and I'm particularly grateful

33:49 that you mentioned two things.

33:50 One is

33:51 the involvement of the community.

33:53 This is absolutely critical and usually it's a recipe for success.

33:57 And the other one is I'm very glad that you are bringing in the private partners

34:01 because this is a lot of untapped potential here in particular in the in

34:04 the in the in the in the human capital and the healthcare sector.

34:08 We are now moving to the Maldives,

34:09 an island state

34:11 that is Of course

34:13 prone to shocks and whether it's the pandemic

34:16 that where tourism basically came to a halt.

34:20 Now with the Ukraine war we are seeing

34:22 that tourism numbers from Russian and Ukrainian tourists,

34:26 which accounted for 20% of arrivals,

34:29 has come down or has come down to almost zero.

34:32 And of course there's climate change,

34:34 and I'm very happy that we have the Honorable Minister

34:37 Amina Shona here,

34:38 the Minister of Environment,

34:39 Climate.

34:40 Climate change technologies in the Maldives.

34:42 Um,

34:43 Honorable Minister,

34:44 the last time I was in the Maldives,

34:45 you were,

34:46 I think in at COP 26,

34:48 and uh we didn't meet.

34:49 But,

34:50 uh,

34:51 your contribution on screen when we talked about the digital economy

34:54 was fantastic.

34:55 And

34:56 I would like

34:56 you to share with us

34:58 what is it that you are doing to,

35:00 uh,

35:00 in the Maldives to deal with the pressing needs for skills,

35:03 uh,

35:03 enhancement and for diversification of the economy.

35:06 The floor is yours,

35:07 Minister.

35:09 Thank you,

35:09 um,

35:10 Hart Schaeffer.

35:11 Um,

35:11 it was a great pleasure,

35:13 um,

35:13 for me to

35:15 represent the Maldives in COP 26,

35:17 but I was extremely saddened to miss,

35:19 um,

35:19 your visit

35:20 to the Maldives as well.

35:22 First of all,

35:23 um,

35:23 thank you for inviting me to speak,

35:26 um,

35:26 at this panel that's so critical

35:28 for South Asia region.

35:30 The Maldives places great importance on addressing

35:34 the need for a clean environment,

35:36 meeting the challenges of climate change,

35:38 and

35:38 harnessing technology.

35:40 As you're very well aware,

35:42 we are a very young country.

35:45 More than 40% of our countries under the age of

35:49 40 as well.

35:51 So we have a critical need as we emerge from a global pandemic to invest in

35:57 human capital

35:58 to be that is ready and prepared

36:01 to address emerging issues that's

36:04 an existential threat

36:06 for

36:06 for our country.

36:08 Uh,

36:09 our climate goals are extremely ambitious and necessary as well.

36:13 We are working with the,

36:14 with the World Bank to enhance our programs

36:17 in energy transition,

36:19 conservation,

36:20 and waste management as well.

36:22 We are on track to reduce our emissions by 26% by 2030,

36:27 but we also have an ambitious target to reach net zero.

36:31 By 2030,

36:32 given support from the international community,

36:35 we are phasing out single-use plastics by 2023.

36:38 We are also protecting our most ecologically significant areas in the Maldives.

36:44 We've already protected 13%

36:47 of our reef areas.

36:49 So through our mitigation targets and investment in modern.

36:53 Solid waste management policies

36:55 and conservation,

36:57 we will be able

36:59 to develop and redevelop island economies that's more resilient,

37:04 clean,

37:05 and smart.

37:06 So diversifying our country's tourism,

37:09 like you mentioned,

37:10 is,

37:10 is critical for us at the moment when there's so much

37:14 going on in the world in terms of the challenges.

37:16 We face because of

37:18 climate change,

37:18 but also

37:19 what's happening at a global level in terms of

37:22 geopolitics as well.

37:24 So we,

37:25 we,

37:25 it's critical for us to invest

37:27 both in tourism and fisheries to diversify and

37:32 how well we are able to

37:34 bounce back from

37:35 um

37:37 situations that we are in currently.

37:39 Fortunately,

37:40 our tourism has bounced back,

37:43 uh,

37:43 very quickly after the pandemic,

37:45 but like you said,

37:46 now we are faced with a crisis

37:49 and hopefully we'll also be able to come out of it.

37:52 But the wellness of our

37:54 tourism industry is so much dependent

37:58 on how

37:59 well and healthy our marine life and ecosystem and our pristine beaches are as well.

38:04 Because

38:05 essentially,

38:06 people come to the Maldives because

38:08 it's very beautiful

38:10 and we want to preserve

38:12 the integrity and the beauty of our natural ecosystems

38:16 for more people to be able to visit.

38:19 For this,

38:19 we also need diversified skills.

38:22 We need to mobilize our human capital at scale,

38:25 focusing on going local to global.

38:28 And bringing

38:30 the global good practices

38:32 to strengthen local environments,

38:34 to promote green transition in the longer term in relation

38:38 to the current economic recovery.

38:41 So protection of mangroves,

38:43 thriving reefs,

38:44 and whale shark points is just not enough

38:47 for a country like the Maldives.

38:49 We need to develop the right skills in our island communities to.

38:54 Create green jobs,

38:55 connect conservation with jobs,

38:57 and how it contributes to

39:00 our economic development at an island level

39:03 for youth to have these skills in our islands,

39:06 for them to know how to manage these protected areas.

39:10 This is what will diversify our tourism,

39:13 and this will bring tourism

39:14 and increase our resilience at an island level.

39:19 Technology is critical for a country like ours.

39:22 We,

39:23 we're not just a small island state.

39:24 We are a very large ocean state,

39:27 so

39:28 we cannot develop without investing in technology.

39:32 So both to diversify our economy and

39:36 to monitor

39:37 our very large ocean territory that we have

39:41 and to understand what's happening to our islands

39:43 because of The impacts of climate change.

39:45 We need to rapidly

39:47 invest in technology and that's why I am pleased

39:51 to work with um your,

39:53 your team at the bank

39:54 to deploy digital,

39:56 uh,

39:56 to deploy support for

39:58 uh what's going on in the Maldives for our digitalization as well.

40:02 We are investing in,

40:03 um,

40:04 digitalization,

40:05 particularly on digital identification and

40:08 emerging tools.

40:09 Such as drones to both monitor the impact of climate change

40:13 while also creating

40:14 the means to target services and support in case of natural disasters as well.

40:20 So collectively with uh different ministries in the Maldives,

40:24 we are

40:25 investing and mobilizing human capital investment at a scale,

40:30 and our commitment is evident through the collaboration on

40:34 skills development.

40:34 Programs and trainings between

40:37 two World Bank finance projects.

40:39 Um,

40:39 one is the Maldives Clean Environment Project

40:42 and,

40:42 um,

40:43 the Miri Project,

40:44 uh,

40:44 which focuses on joint efforts in

40:47 preparing young people for new green jobs and technology

40:51 enabled development.

40:52 And just,

40:53 um,

40:53 this month,

40:55 I have,

40:55 um,

40:56 I had the pleasure of launching

40:59 the first ever A national competency standard for a

41:02 waste to wealth management program

41:05 that was developed with the support of the World Bank.

41:08 So this is the first time

41:09 a Tibet-level program has been

41:12 initiated in the Maldives to equip the young people and island communities

41:17 to understand how we are able to effectively

41:21 address the problem of solid waste management.

41:23 So I'll leave it there.

41:25 And,

41:25 um,

41:26 a great pleasure to be here and um I look forward to a discussion on this as well.

41:32 Thank,

41:32 thank you,

41:32 Minister,

41:33 and particularly thank you for highlighting

41:35 the importance of creating green jobs,

41:38 uh,

41:38 particularly for the Maldives,

41:39 which will

41:40 be so central to reinforce the resilience and the preservation effort

41:44 that the Maldives has has launched,

41:47 but also to work on digitalization.

41:50 I think that is another that links to what we heard from

41:53 uh from Bangladesh and it is equally important for the Maldives.

41:57 Uh,

41:58 we are now going to Pakistan.

42:00 And we have two speakers from Pakistan,

42:02 one at the national,

42:03 one at the provincial level.

42:05 And the first speaker is the Honorable Minister Aisha

42:09 Pasha,

42:10 the Minister of State for Finance and Revenue.

42:12 Minister,

42:13 you are fairly new.

42:14 I mean,

42:15 with only days in your,

42:16 in your job,

42:17 but

42:18 you have of course been in government before.

42:21 And I would like

42:22 you to share with us what are the key

42:24 investment priorities for human capital in Pakistan.

42:27 Over to you.

42:30 Thank you.

42:30 Thank you so much.

42:31 And yes,

42:31 you have rightly,

42:32 I indicated that I've just taken over.

42:35 And believe me,

42:36 this is not the best of times to take over.

42:39 Uh,

42:39 but nonetheless,

42:41 uh,

42:41 let me,

42:41 um,

42:42 start by,

42:43 um,

42:43 agreeing with everyone and you in particular that human capital,

42:47 um,

42:47 is

42:48 something that is fundamental to economic

42:50 development and progress of any country.

42:53 And no country can,

42:54 you know,

42:55 reach its full potential until an unless it's,

42:58 um,

42:58 it's the nation is well educated,

43:01 has good health,

43:02 and has good opportunities,

43:04 economic opportunities

43:06 to make them.

43:07 These are drivers of.

43:08 Sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction

43:11 in any country and investments in human capital

43:14 are very important.

43:16 Let me also admit,

43:17 while recognizing that

43:19 that investment in human capital and in youngsters has

43:22 not been adequate in our part of the world.

43:25 And,

43:25 uh,

43:25 I'll be candid enough to recognize this and admit this because

43:29 uh investments in uh social and infrastructure and human capital doesn't bear

43:35 bear

43:36 benefits,

43:37 uh,

43:38 quick economic benefits like some of the infrastructure projects can do.

43:41 And so they're

43:42 inevitably on the lower scale as far as political benefits

43:46 and their,

43:47 uh,

43:47 importance is concerned,

43:49 politically speaking,

43:50 and the benefits are concerned.

43:52 But

43:53 the point is that we missed the opportunity to create the virtuous cycle

43:59 between physical

44:00 and

44:00 human capital

44:01 and growth and poverty reduction.

44:04 Now,

44:04 Pakistan is a,

44:05 is a,

44:05 is a potential country with 215 million people

44:10 of growth,

44:12 with 63% of its population between 25 years of age,

44:16 which gives Pakistan a distinct

44:18 and unique position in this,

44:20 in,

44:20 in this situation.

44:22 And uh the problem is that with the macroeconomic crisis that we have,

44:27 we have experienced now,

44:29 particularly so following

44:31 the COVID crisis,

44:32 and now the,

44:33 the latest uh political situation that

44:37 is,

44:37 has occurred,

44:38 which the global community is facing macroeconomic challenges

44:42 following the Ukraine

44:44 war.

44:45 These,

44:45 uh,

44:46 challenges have actually put all the economies,

44:49 the macroeconomies of a number of countries under stress,

44:52 Pakistan being no exception to it.

44:54 And given the,

44:55 uh,

44:56 the financial,

44:57 uh,

44:58 situation that the country faces,

45:00 the distribution of resources

45:02 towards macroeconomic stability and human capital becomes even bigger issue.

45:07 So we are entering a situation where the situation,

45:10 which was not so good,

45:12 has been further aggravated

45:14 because of exogenous factors around us.

45:16 The high inflation,

45:18 global prices,

45:19 the international environment

45:21 has put our finances under so much more pressure

45:25 and therefore our task to maintain

45:27 investments in human capital is so much more challenging.

45:31 But having said that,

45:33 Let me also indicate to you that this government,

45:36 that I,

45:37 at least I am representing at this stage,

45:40 recognizes

45:41 that even in these

45:43 critical situation,

45:45 where high inflation had the,

45:47 uh,

45:47 the,

45:47 the economic crisis has put

45:49 um.

45:51 Poverty has undone the progress that the country has achieved

45:56 in a few last few years,

45:58 some,

45:58 some period in improving poverty level in the country

46:01 and improving human development indicators in the country,

46:04 and some financing of the country.

46:07 We will plan,

46:07 we plan to reverse it.

46:09 We will do whatever is possible for us to do so,

46:12 and the way we have actually um

46:16 Dealt with the COVID crisis,

46:18 which has been recognized internationally as a good effort,

46:21 but not only in terms of curtailing its health,

46:24 uh,

46:25 uh,

46:25 implications,

46:26 but also its macro economic fallouts,

46:29 we plan to actually continue on to.

46:31 Focus on this.

46:32 And let me tell you what are some of the things that we plan to

46:35 do

46:36 coming in and taking things forward.

46:38 As I have reiterated

46:40 that I realized

46:41 very clearly

46:42 that in managing the overall macroeconomic situation,

46:46 we cannot forget.

46:47 That the people of Pakistan have gone through very high

46:51 and intensive problems and human uh of maintaining

46:55 the quality of life that they have,

46:57 but we also want them not only to maintain that quality of life,

47:00 but,

47:01 put them back on track

47:03 on higher growth trajectory

47:05 through our investments in human capital,

47:08 uh.

47:08 Human capital.

47:10 Now,

47:10 uh,

47:10 uh,

47:11 coming back to some of the initiatives that are taken forward,

47:14 the last government introduced a number of initiatives uh in social protection,

47:18 which were essential

47:19 for us to really insulate and somehow

47:22 cushion

47:23 the lower segments of the population so that these structural

47:26 happenings globally as well as locally do not.

47:29 Uh,

47:30 uh,

47:30 a disproportionately heavier burden on the lower segments.

47:33 We plan to look at those number of plans and continue on,

47:37 particularly with the Buenazir Income Support Program,

47:40 which is a cash transfer program

47:42 to insulate

47:43 the people in the lower segments.

47:45 Uh,

47:45 we do not want to,

47:46 however,

47:47 uh,

47:48 you know,

47:49 promote dependency syndrome.

47:51 We want to get

47:52 them back onto track by reviving

47:54 uh them

47:55 and using technology in this digit digitally transformed world

48:00 to put them

48:00 back on track,

48:02 uh,

48:02 on,

48:03 uh,

48:03 and increase employment and so on and so forth.

48:06 Um,

48:07 education and health are important priorities,

48:09 will continue to be,

48:10 uh,

48:10 uh,

48:10 for us.

48:11 I believe that for a large number of coun with

48:14 the country with as large a population as ours,

48:17 preventive health has to be focused enough on

48:20 so that the need for curative health isn't there.

48:22 We will plan to do

48:24 likewise

48:26 to the 5 minute.

48:28 Yes,

48:28 uh,

48:28 so let me conclude by saying that,

48:31 uh,

48:31 the priorities are we stand committed to the sustainable development goals.

48:36 We know that in the digitalized world,

48:38 transformation will take us,

48:40 will need to be adopted,

48:41 particularly given our large youth population,

48:44 and we stand committed

48:46 to,

48:46 uh,

48:47 promoting and bringing back our kids into school which have lost.

48:50 Jobs

48:51 and their schooling because of the poverty conditions.

48:54 And with this,

48:55 I in my,

48:56 my initial few remarks,

48:58 and we look forward to the discussion later on.

49:00 Thank you very much,

49:01 Minister,

49:01 and thank you for highlighting

49:03 the challenges from your perspective,

49:05 um,

49:06 dealing with the finances and how global events can actually put

49:10 additional pressure on the fiscal space that is.

49:12 there for all kinds of investments,

49:14 including

49:15 for investment in human capital and how you are going to prioritize this.

49:19 I think it was very interesting.

49:20 We're staying in Pakistan,

49:21 but we are going to the provincial level.

49:23 We're going to the KP province and

49:25 um I would like to welcome the Honorable Minister

49:29 Twaha Chakra,

49:29 the Minister of Finance and Health of the KP province.

49:33 Uh,

49:33 Minister,

49:35 I would like you to share with us

49:37 how your province is actually

49:40 dealing

49:40 with uh the issue of human capital and how you are tapping

49:44 into the potential

49:46 of um

49:47 of uh girls and women uh through promoting education

49:52 and human capital.

49:53 Uh,

49:54 the floor is yours,

49:55 Minister.

49:58 Um,

49:59 can you hear me well?

50:01 We can hear you loud and clear,

50:02 minister.

50:04 Well,

50:05 um,

50:06 I'm,

50:06 uh,

50:06 honored to be participating,

50:08 uh,

50:09 and,

50:09 um,

50:10 this is a,

50:12 uh,

50:12 passionate topic,

50:14 uh,

50:14 for the provincial government.

50:15 It's a passionate topic

50:17 for me personally,

50:18 uh,

50:19 it's a passionate topic for the former Prime Minister Imran Khan,

50:23 um,

50:24 under whose leadership we worked over the last 3,

50:26 3.5 years.

50:28 Look,

50:29 um,

50:30 Heber Pakhtowa,

50:31 uh,

50:32 under this particular government

50:34 we've made investing in human capital

50:37 the actual fulcrum of,

50:39 uh,

50:40 the investments in the work that government does

50:43 and the relationship that it actually has,

50:45 uh,

50:46 with the citizenry.

50:47 Uh,

50:47 in the context of Pakistan,

50:49 we're a small province,

50:50 but 40 million people is not small,

50:53 um.

50:54 If I just jump to the results first,

50:57 I think the latest UNDP result actually showed

51:01 the,

51:01 um,

51:02 the,

51:03 the actual fruits of some of the work that has happened over here

51:06 in terms of actual,

51:08 actually reducing economic disparity

51:12 more than any other province or any other federating unit in Pakistan,

51:16 but it's a job that's only just begun,

51:19 of course,

51:19 right?

51:20 I think we have a long way to go.

51:22 Because

51:23 if we really zoom in,

51:24 I mean,

51:25 what's actually,

51:26 what,

51:26 what's actually helped us

51:29 get to where we have,

51:31 it is massive investments in health,

51:34 it is massive investments in education.

51:37 It is

51:39 an openness to transformational reform and uh hopefully I'll have 30 seconds

51:44 to talk about the um universal health insurance program that we pioneered,

51:49 right?

51:50 But it's really about putting

51:52 the daily lives,

51:54 livelihoods,

51:56 and the development of citizenry

51:58 above all else.

52:00 Um,

52:01 it's showed in job numbers.

52:03 It shows in,

52:04 it showed in the opportunities that we provide to the citizenry of this province

52:09 in terms of migrating their skills outside of

52:11 the province in the rest of the country,

52:14 uh,

52:14 as well as,

52:15 um,

52:16 uh,

52:16 outside of Pakistan.

52:18 Heber Potuwa provides,

52:19 while it's about sixth of the population,

52:21 provides about

52:22 40% of the expat Pakistani,

52:25 uh,

52:25 labor force,

52:26 right?

52:26 And so a combination of investing in people,

52:30 investing.

52:30 In the economy of this province,

52:32 uh,

52:32 and,

52:33 and investing in relationship with this diaspora that's abroad

52:37 has had a massive,

52:38 massive impact

52:40 on,

52:40 on,

52:40 on actually the economic development of the province

52:44 where the human capital over here has got to.

52:47 Getting specifically to the point,

52:49 I cannot say that in absolute terms,

52:52 I'm proud of where we are

52:54 specific to

52:56 uh

52:56 investing in women and girls.

52:58 Um,

52:59 there's been a lot of work done,

53:01 and I'll briefly talk about it,

53:03 but I think the reality is that Pakistan as a whole,

53:07 including K Heper Potowa,

53:09 actually has a massive gap

53:12 in terms of the labor force participation of women.

53:15 Uh,

53:15 it's one of the lowest in the region,

53:18 and that is something that we have to transform

53:21 and if I were to pick

53:23 three areas where we transform it,

53:26 I think first is,

53:27 of course,

53:28 uh,

53:28 investing in education.

53:30 And I think in terms of investing in education,

53:33 um,

53:33 what has happened across Pakistan in the last decade.

53:37 And in particular has happened

53:39 after the devolution

53:42 of social sector,

53:43 social sector subjects

53:45 to the federating units rather than the center

53:48 is huge investments in education,

53:50 not just have the number of girls schools increased,

53:54 the number of schools have increased,

53:56 uh,

53:56 the,

53:56 the,

53:57 the number of teachers hired has increased,

54:00 um,

54:00 massively,

54:01 um,

54:01 the honorable,

54:02 uh,

54:03 MNA Doctor Aisha.

54:04 Pasha,

54:04 I remember when I was working in Punjab,

54:06 I was the finance minister there as well.

54:09 We've made investments across the board.

54:11 I think in this province alone

54:13 we've

54:14 invested in

54:16 almost

54:17 200,000 new teachers

54:19 over the last 7 or 8 years,

54:22 and all of those through a new transparent merit-based process,

54:26 the majority females,

54:28 the majority in girls' schools.

54:31 Similarly,

54:32 I think the other big transformation that

54:34 is happening across education and health.

54:37 is one where

54:39 we are actually investing in operationalizing the infrastructure

54:44 rather than a traditional development world

54:47 uh infatuation with building more bricks and mortar.

54:50 And that is something that has been a huge focus

54:54 in terms of um

54:56 getting more service delivery out of the primary healthcare system,

54:59 out of the secondary healthcare system.

55:02 That I think are all integrated as well

55:04 as the tertiary healthcare system which I think actually

55:07 allowed Pakistan to do the tremendous job that it did in COVID.

55:11 And again,

55:11 the beneficiaries of a more empowered and a better functional health system

55:16 is particularly the women of the country,

55:18 uh,

55:19 and even more so when you talk of the primary healthcare space.

55:23 Minister,

55:23 we are at the 5 minute mark.

55:25 Sure,

55:26 so just to close,

55:27 right,

55:27 in terms of primary healthcare,

55:29 we are in the midst of the biggest primary healthcare reform.

55:34 In the history of the country,

55:36 happening in every basic health unit

55:39 led by every basic health unit,

55:41 and as we speak,

55:43 out of 1000 basic health units,

55:45 there's

55:46 investment in infrastructure and human resources

55:50 directly translating into outcomes.

55:53 So in Peshawar,

55:54 the footfall into basic health units

55:56 has increased 350% in the last year

56:00 because we have done so.

56:02 Just one last point as we do this.

56:05 If we invest in women and girls,

56:07 I think

56:08 we cannot underscore,

56:09 and what we try and do here now

56:11 is to foster champions,

56:13 champions across classes

56:15 from women in business

56:17 to women that Are entrepreneurs out of their homes.

56:20 I think it is the combination of these three

56:22 things that are going to see a tremendous future

56:26 ahead,

56:27 uh,

56:27 for women,

56:27 for girls,

56:28 and for,

56:28 uh,

56:28 human capital development across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

56:32 and across Pakistan.

56:34 Thank you very much,

56:35 Minister.

56:36 And thank you for highlighting the importance,

56:38 particularly for Pakistan,

56:40 of supporting women and girls.

56:41 I think this was one of the key headlines also of

56:44 our analytical work that we did on the Pakistan at 100.

56:49 So thanks for sharing that with us.

56:50 Uh,

56:51 we are now going to,

56:52 um,

56:52 to Nepal.

56:53 And I would like uh to Ask everybody to um

56:57 to switch to the English interpretation.

56:59 You will find an interpretation button,

57:01 uh,

57:01 on the right side of the screen to listen to English.

57:04 Our,

57:04 our speaker,

57:05 um,

57:06 is the Honorable Minister Devendra Podel,

57:08 the Minister of Education,

57:10 Science and Technology

57:11 in Nepal.

57:12 Um,

57:13 and I would like to,

57:15 to congratulate

57:16 Congratulate Nepal for a very quick switching

57:18 to remote learning uh during the pandemic.

57:21 Nevertheless,

57:22 um,

57:23 just like any other country in the world that has switched to remote learning,

57:26 there have been learning losses over the last two years.

57:29 And

57:29 Mr.

57:30 Cordell,

57:30 if you would please share with us how you are going to address

57:34 making up for these learning losses.

57:35 The floor is yours.

57:38 Uh,

57:39 good evening.

57:41 To all Rome here.

57:43 Manani Motrijevaru.

57:45 Honorable ministers,

57:47 ladies and gentlemen,

57:52 uh,

57:52 first of all,

57:54 I'd like to express my happiness.

57:58 Uh,

57:58 for this opportunity to present in this

58:01 roundtable titled Investing in Human Capital System in South Asia,

58:06 The Key to

58:07 Sustainable,

58:08 inclusive and resilient Growth.

58:10 Uh,

58:10 I am glad to have this opportunity to present on Nepal's

58:14 experience in educational sector during COVID-19 and its future plans.

58:24 Mm.

58:28 Mhm

58:30 Family

58:32 You got.

58:44 Um,

58:46 in order to continue the learnings of children,

58:49 even at the time of difficulty caused by the COVID pandemic,

58:53 we have adopted some good practices

58:56 by using alternative,

58:58 uh,

58:58 teaching technologies.

59:00 Um,

59:01 uh,

59:01 we immediately held a series of meeting of the

59:05 education cluster,

59:06 and

59:07 we formulated educational emergency action plan,

59:12 so,

59:12 uh,

59:13 that we could ensure that learnings of the students at the time of lockdown were uh

59:17 uninterrupted.

59:19 Uh,

59:19 in this course of time,

59:21 we developed several policies and directives such as

59:24 alternative Learning Facilitation Directive,

59:28 Student Education Learning Facilitation Directive,

59:31 school health safety and sanitation standards,

59:35 school reopening framework,

59:37 Um,

59:37 we also conducted orientation programs for the province and local labels

59:43 so that they can,

59:44 they could implement these policies and directives,

59:47 adapt adapting them to their local context.

59:53 Um,

59:54 also,

59:55 um,

59:56 the educational regulations were revised to address the COVID-19 pandemic

1:00:00 and similar pandemics in the context of federal governance structure,

1:00:05 and the educational system was also adjusted in the light of the

1:00:09 lost time due to the pandemic.

1:00:12 Based on these policies and directives.

1:00:14 Our local governments and schools were

1:00:17 able to continue their teaching and learning

1:00:20 as per their local circumstances

1:00:23 by ensuring students' safety.

1:00:25 The following efforts were

1:00:27 made in this regard.

1:00:28 Teaching was continued by adopting various means

1:00:32 on the basis of the access and availability of technology.

1:00:36 Uh,

1:00:37 additionally,

1:00:38 various multimedia such as radio,

1:00:40 television,

1:00:41 phone,

1:00:42 and online portals were used to broadcast educational lessons.

1:00:46 The national tele the state-owned television,

1:00:49 Nepal Television,

1:00:50 it also broadcasted

1:00:52 5 hours of educational content every day.

1:00:55 Um,

1:00:56 and also provisions were made to

1:00:59 allow students displaced by the pandemic to take their

1:01:02 board exams right from their own schools,

1:01:06 and also home visits were conducted to facilitate the learning of

1:01:10 differently-abled students,

1:01:13 and also most of the students,

1:01:14 they were contacted through telephone

1:01:17 and close user groups

1:01:18 uh during the pandemic and updates were

1:01:21 Taken

1:01:22 and this was done in cooperation with the

1:01:25 telecom service providers and the local-level governments and schools.

1:01:30 Um,

1:01:31 and also to address the basic learning of children,

1:01:33 the government

1:01:35 made adjustment in curriculum

1:01:36 and expanded the educational system.

1:01:39 Um,

1:01:40 also,

1:01:40 in addition to the learning and development materials,

1:01:43 psychosocial counseling programs were also carried out for the children.

1:01:48 Uh,

1:01:48 and

1:01:49 also mobile apps and comprehensive online educational portals

1:01:53 were also developed to facilitate children's learning.

1:01:56 Despite the challenges,

1:01:58 honorable ministers,

1:01:59 um,

1:02:00 there are some lessons as well.

1:02:02 Um,

1:02:02 Nepal's experience of telephone-based learning was recommended

1:02:07 to the prioritized learning during COVID-19,

1:02:10 the most effective ways to keep

1:02:13 children learning during

1:02:14 and post-pandemic

1:02:16 report

1:02:19 of the global.

1:02:20 Education Evidence Advisory Panel.

1:02:24 Additionally,

1:02:25 uh,

1:02:26 the implementation of smart lockdowns,

1:02:29 uh,

1:02:29 that,

1:02:30 uh,

1:02:30 uh,

1:02:31 that was context-specific

1:02:33 has also empowered our local labels

1:02:35 to resume their schools as per their need and the context.

1:02:39 Uh,

1:02:40 one of the lesson that we learned was that

1:02:42 we found out that only 34% of households in Nepal

1:02:45 have internet installed.

1:02:47 So therefore,

1:02:47 it is necessary to adopt

1:02:49 various learning platforms and methods to address the

1:02:52 learning needs of all kinds of children.

1:02:55 Although school have Resumed because of these efforts,

1:02:58 there has been a

1:03:00 huge loss in students' learning.

1:03:02 Therefore,

1:03:03 in order to address the learning needs of children in coming days,

1:03:06 the government of school has taken steps to continuously develop

1:03:10 uh receptivity,

1:03:11 adaptivity,

1:03:12 and resilience in our educational system.

1:03:14 Um,

1:03:15 so,

1:03:16 uh,

1:03:16 for this,

1:03:16 we plan to develop learning reference materials for children,

1:03:20 provide training to teachers,

1:03:22 so they are able to use alternative means of teaching and instructing,

1:03:25 and

1:03:26 we'll also plan to orient our parents and guardians

1:03:31 so that they can assist the learning journey of the children and

1:03:34 um

1:03:35 Um,

1:03:36 of their children.

1:03:38 The government of Nepal has prepared a school sector education plan

1:03:42 currently,

1:03:43 uh,

1:03:43 recently,

1:03:43 which includes a learning recovery roadmap.

1:03:46 Under the roadmap,

1:03:47 we'll provide additional resources and carry out

1:03:50 necessary interventions to supplement children's learning.

1:03:53 Uh,

1:03:54 education has always remained a priority of government of Nepal,

1:03:57 uh,

1:03:57 to supply the the children's learning.

1:03:59 The government is committed to increase share of education

1:04:02 share in the national budget in coming days.

1:04:04 Thank you.

1:04:06 If

1:04:07 you would answer

1:04:09 one with one sentence,

1:04:10 please.

1:04:10 So we go very quickly around the

1:04:13 uh the table and there's one question.

1:04:16 What is your number one priority

1:04:19 for human capital

1:04:21 investments in your country as you recover from COVID?

1:04:24 What is your number?

1:04:25 Number one priority in human capital investments.

1:04:28 And um and I would really like you to like everybody to

1:04:31 stick to a one sentence answer uh to leave the audience with.

1:04:35 And we are following the same order of speakers.

1:04:38 And uh I first call on the

1:04:41 Prime Minister from Bangladesh

1:04:43 Palak.

1:04:46 So one line

1:04:48 answer would be,

1:04:49 we'd like to give

1:04:52 uh programming skills to all of our students from primary,

1:04:56 secondary

1:04:57 to tertiary level.

1:04:58 So that would be our main challenge to provide

1:05:02 programming and coding skills to our students.

1:05:09 Thank you.

1:05:17 Can I intervene and indicate that we can't hear you?

1:05:21 Um,

1:05:21 Oliver,

1:05:22 what,

1:05:22 what,

1:05:23 OK,

1:05:23 so what I was saying is

1:05:25 programming and coding skills,

1:05:26 um,

1:05:27 are a priority for the digital economy in Bangladesh,

1:05:30 and may I now move to the minister from Nepal,

1:05:33 uh,

1:05:33 Minister Venmo.

1:05:35 In one sentence,

1:05:36 what's the priority?

1:05:40 Um,

1:05:40 thank you.

1:05:41 Uh,

1:05:41 for us is,

1:05:42 um,

1:05:43 again,

1:05:43 uh,

1:05:44 investment in mother and child for an inclusive,

1:05:48 um,

1:05:49 Bhutan,

1:05:49 uh,

1:05:50 for tomorrow,

1:05:51 so.

1:05:53 Thank you very much,

1:05:54 Minister.

1:05:54 The the 1st 1000 golden days.

1:05:58 Absolutely.

1:05:59 Thank you.

1:06:00 And we are moving now to Megalia State to Minister Sangma.

1:06:04 In one sentence,

1:06:05 what is your priority for investment?

1:06:08 Um,

1:06:09 we have a very high infant and,

1:06:11 uh,

1:06:11 maternal mortality rate in our state,

1:06:13 and I think for us,

1:06:15 the biggest challenge and,

1:06:16 uh,

1:06:16 our goal is to bring that down substantially.

1:06:20 Thank you very much,

1:06:21 Minister,

1:06:22 and we are moving now to the Maldives.

1:06:24 Minister Shona,

1:06:26 what is the,

1:06:26 in one sentence,

1:06:27 what's the priority?

1:06:35 She had to leave.

1:06:36 She had to leave.

1:06:37 She's written in the chat box that um

1:06:39 the main thing in the Maldives is building resilience in all sectors

1:06:43 is the most important part of human capital development.

1:06:46 Very good.

1:06:47 And

1:06:48 let's move to Pakistan.

1:06:50 Minister

1:06:51 Minister Pasha,

1:06:53 um,

1:06:54 for Pakistan at the national level in one sentence,

1:06:56 what is the priority?

1:06:59 Actually,

1:06:59 the,

1:07:00 my first priority at this stage which will be

1:07:03 to insulate

1:07:04 the,

1:07:04 the lowest segment of population to go further into poverty,

1:07:09 uh,

1:07:09 following the macroeconomic adjustment program.

1:07:11 We have to insulate them and preserve human capital,

1:07:15 uh,

1:07:15 capital that we have.

1:07:17 Thank you.

1:07:17 And you have a very good program or

1:07:19 safety net program in Pakistan that has really been

1:07:22 effective.

1:07:23 Thank you,

1:07:24 Minister Chakra.

1:07:25 Uh,

1:07:25 for KP,

1:07:26 what is your number one priority in investment in human capital?

1:07:32 Look,

1:07:32 it is very simple.

1:07:34 At this point,

1:07:35 it is simply,

1:07:37 uh,

1:07:37 as we talk of recovering from COVID,

1:07:40 it is to get existing health infrastructure to work better.

1:07:45 That is the biggest learning.

1:07:47 We have 1,000+ BHUs,

1:07:49 we have 200 secondary hospitals.

1:07:52 And we've seen

1:07:53 what the incremental investment can make in terms of a huge difference.

1:07:58 I'm very excited about what we are doing

1:08:00 and we're going to try and further fasten the pace.

1:08:04 Thank you,

1:08:05 Minister Jack Ryan.

1:08:06 I think,

1:08:06 uh,

1:08:06 in all the countries in South Asia,

1:08:08 we have seen,

1:08:09 uh,

1:08:09 where are the pressure points on the healthcare system.

1:08:12 Uh,

1:08:12 we have seen that during COVID-19.

1:08:14 And I think now over the next years,

1:08:16 we have to fix that to build in resilience and

1:08:19 and prevent that,

1:08:20 uh,

1:08:21 uh,

1:08:21 anything happens during the next crisis that is around the corner.

1:08:24 Thank you very much for sharing that with us.

1:08:27 And now I'm going to Minister Purel of Nepal.

1:08:29 In one sentence,

1:08:30 what is Nepal's priority investment in human capital?

1:08:34 Uh thank you Nepalma

1:08:37 Shikaikalagi

1:08:38 Adarvadar Picasso.

1:08:40 Uh,

1:08:41 for

1:08:41 us,

1:08:42 it's to develop basic infrastructure for learning in schools,

1:08:47 such as technology equipped classroom,

1:08:49 capacity development of teachers,

1:08:51 availability of educational materials,

1:08:54 and use

1:08:55 of

1:08:56 technology.

1:08:57 Um,

1:08:58 so,

1:08:59 the Ministry of Education intends to connect theoretical learning

1:09:02 to employment.

1:09:04 Panel around and uh

1:09:06 we are a little bit over time,

1:09:07 but I really appreciate that you all stayed with us.

1:09:10 Uh it is now my pleasure to hand this over to um

1:09:13 uh to Mamta Murthy,

1:09:15 uh my colleague and the vice president for Human Development for closing remarks.

1:09:19 And you also,

1:09:21 Mate,

1:09:21 I think you're also going to show us the the

1:09:23 word cloud of the third question that Lenn asked.

1:09:25 Over to you,

1:09:26 Magda,

1:09:26 for closing.

1:09:28 Um,

1:09:28 thank you,

1:09:29 thank you,

1:09:29 Hart,

1:09:30 and I just want to say this has been an absolutely terrific session,

1:09:34 and I really want to thank the panelists for their very thoughtful

1:09:38 and thought-provoking remarks.

1:09:40 Um,

1:09:40 now,

1:09:41 by way of conclusion,

1:09:42 and I will be brief,

1:09:44 let me

1:09:44 just say

1:09:45 that,

1:09:46 um,

1:09:47 oh,

1:09:47 I see that the,

1:09:48 uh,

1:09:48 poll has gone up.

1:09:50 Let me begin by saying that COVID-19 has been a terrible setback

1:09:55 for human capital in the South Asia region.

1:09:58 And

1:09:59 there've been the deaths,

1:10:01 which have been significant,

1:10:02 deaths from COVID-19.

1:10:04 There's been the closure of schools,

1:10:06 which,

1:10:06 uh,

1:10:07 is,

1:10:07 has,

1:10:08 has been long.

1:10:09 And,

1:10:09 and then I think,

1:10:10 um,

1:10:11 COVID has also exposed,

1:10:13 uh,

1:10:13 um,

1:10:14 the many people in the informal sector

1:10:16 to hardship.

1:10:17 And so it's not surprising,

1:10:19 and now let's put up the poll

1:10:21 results.

1:10:22 It's not surprising to see the priorities

1:10:25 that,

1:10:26 um,

1:10:26 listeners have identified.

1:10:28 Uh.

1:10:29 We can see that the number one priority is really on

1:10:33 learning,

1:10:35 education,

1:10:35 and learning poverty.

1:10:37 Um,

1:10:37 and this is because the learning losses from

1:10:39 school closures in the region have been significant,

1:10:42 and this comes on top

1:10:44 of a situation where,

1:10:46 uh,

1:10:47 learning happening in school was insufficient.

1:10:49 And I was very pleased to hear from,

1:10:52 from,

1:10:52 um,

1:10:53 uh,

1:10:53 a number of panelists

1:10:55 that the recognition

1:10:57 of the need to get children back to school

1:10:59 and to make a commitment,

1:11:01 both a political commitment and a financing commitment

1:11:04 to ensure

1:11:05 that learning is resumed in school,

1:11:08 schools now that they're open.

1:11:10 A second block of priorities that I see here is around

1:11:13 health,

1:11:14 um,

1:11:15 uh,

1:11:15 uh,

1:11:16 addressing food,

1:11:17 uh,

1:11:17 security,

1:11:18 malnutrition,

1:11:19 and pandemic preparedness.

1:11:21 Um,

1:11:21 and,

1:11:22 and this doesn't come as a surprise.

1:11:23 I think COVID-19 has exposed weaknesses of health systems.

1:11:27 We heard a number of very good examples,

1:11:29 the minister from,

1:11:30 from,

1:11:31 uh,

1:11:31 from Khyber Pakh.

1:11:32 Tulwa gave the uh uh prioritized the need for strengthening the healthcare system.

1:11:38 There were good examples from Bhutan,

1:11:40 from Meghaa,

1:11:42 um,

1:11:42 and,

1:11:42 and so I think there are lots of innovations,

1:11:45 uh,

1:11:45 and experiences in the region that are worth sharing,

1:11:48 strengthening basic healthcare,

1:11:50 bringing in communities,

1:11:52 and bringing the private sector and healthcare delivery.

1:11:55 A third priority that I see here um is,

1:11:59 is around social protection,

1:12:01 malnutrition,

1:12:02 the 1st 1000 days.

1:12:04 Um,

1:12:04 and I,

1:12:05 if,

1:12:05 if COVID-19 did,

1:12:07 did,

1:12:07 did anything,

1:12:08 it really turbocharged

1:12:10 the ability to reach,

1:12:12 uh,

1:12:13 populations with digital transfers,

1:12:16 populations that hitherto were not covered by social safety nets.

1:12:19 It seems that this to me,

1:12:20 that This is an area that is,

1:12:22 that is worth strengthening and building,

1:12:24 because it will allow,

1:12:26 uh,

1:12:26 countries in the region

1:12:27 to be able to deal with,

1:12:29 with,

1:12:29 uh,

1:12:30 future shocks.

1:12:31 Um,

1:12:32 1/4 and final area,

1:12:33 um,

1:12:34 and I,

1:12:34 it's,

1:12:34 it's a bit small,

1:12:35 but it,

1:12:36 it was here in the word cloud,

1:12:38 but it was emphasized by all the speakers,

1:12:41 is the area of,

1:12:42 of,

1:12:43 um,

1:12:43 uh,

1:12:44 innovation,

1:12:44 whether it's innovation and service delivery.

1:12:47 Whether it's innovation through technology,

1:12:49 the minister from Bangladesh spoke about this,

1:12:51 um,

1:12:52 very eloquently,

1:12:53 um,

1:12:53 uh,

1:12:54 whether it's innovation in the provision of skills for new jobs,

1:12:58 uh,

1:12:58 and the minister from the Maldives spoke about this.

1:13:01 Um,

1:13:02 we don't see,

1:13:02 I think it's in,

1:13:03 uh,

1:13:04 all the speakers emphasize that technology is not a panacea,

1:13:07 but it's a,

1:13:08 it's a means to an end,

1:13:09 and,

1:13:09 and technology can really enable better human,

1:13:12 human.

1:13:12 Capital service delivery,

1:13:14 it can also open up new jobs,

1:13:16 uh,

1:13:17 uh,

1:13:17 uh,

1:13:17 and,

1:13:18 and having the right skills

1:13:19 for those jobs is,

1:13:21 is something that,

1:13:22 that,

1:13:22 that technology can engender.

1:13:24 So with that,

1:13:25 let me,

1:13:25 uh,

1:13:26 let me simply say that,

1:13:27 uh,

1:13:27 uh,

1:13:28 uh,

1:13:28 this was a terrific discussion.

1:13:30 I think it's,

1:13:31 uh,

1:13:31 underlined the importance of

1:13:33 human capital and investment in people

1:13:36 for economic recovery in South Asia.

1:13:39 Very good examples were shared,

1:13:40 uh,

1:13:41 uh,

1:13:41 across countries,

1:13:42 uh,

1:13:43 including in,

1:13:44 uh,

1:13:44 especially in healthcare,

1:13:46 but also in education and in skills

1:13:48 and technology,

1:13:49 and,

1:13:50 and I hope that fora such as these can continue to build

1:13:53 collective leadership and collective ownership of this agenda.

1:13:57 With that,

1:13:57 uh,

1:13:58 thank you very much,

1:13:59 and I guess I hand back,

1:14:01 uh,

1:14:01 to,

1:14:02 to Lynn.

1:14:06 Thank you

1:14:07 very much,

1:14:07 Mamta,

1:14:08 and with that we close the session.

1:14:09 Thanks everyone for your participation and for

1:14:12 the very enlightening discussions we have had,

1:14:14 and we look forward to the continued collaboration with everyone.

1:14:17 Thank you all.

1:14:18 Thank you.

1:14:19 Thank you.

1:14:19 Thank you so much.

showAllTimestamps

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transcript

Welcome everybody. It is so great to have you all here today. We're looking forward to a rich and meaningful discussion on how human capital investments are more important than ever for sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth. To keep this session interactive, we have opened a mentee poll, so our audience can vote, and so you can share your thoughts. The instructions will be put up on the screen. Please get your smartphone, tablet, or computer ready and type in HTTPS www.menti.com. The voting code is 537234. The first question you will see is how productive would an average child born in South Asia be relative to their full potential. The answer would be 100% if they did have full health and education. The second question will be, how much would learning losses caused by COVID cost in terms of South Asia's GDP. Please choose the option that you think is right and vote. All answers are anonymous, and we will reveal the results after our first speaker. So now, let me introduce Axel von Trotzenberg, the World Bank Managing Director for Operations, to open the event. Axel, it would be great to hear your thoughts about why human capital investments are critical as South Asia moves towards economic recovery. Over to you. Thank you, Lynn and Honorable Minister and distinguished guest. Thank you for joining us to discuss how investing in human capital is critical to economic growth in South Asia. Before COVID-19, South Asia was the world's fastest growing region. In 2019, the average annual growth rates in the region was almost 7%. South Asian people have been at the heart of this growth. Across the region, millions of people work hard to support their families and their economies, but not everyone has the chance to succeed. Even before the pandemic, 1 out of 3 children in South Asia was still stunted, and 4 out of every 100 children died, not, uh, uh, did not live beyond the age of 5. COVID-19 risks erasing decades of progress in human capital. Almost 2/3 of the new global extreme poor, including many who became poor due to COVID-19, now live in South Asia. COVID-19 related learning losses could cost trillions in lost earnings globally, and between 2020 and 2021, schools were closed for 250 days in South Asia, pushing millions of children into what we call learning poverty. The pandemic also exposed the vulnerability of informal workers who compromised 80% of the work force in some South Asian economies. Investing in human capital. The knowledge, skills, and health that people need to achieve their potential is critical to include economic growth and poverty reduction. Unlocking human capital could supercharge South Asia's economic recovery and growth. South Asia has fast tapped untapped economic potential in its people. In Bangladesh, for instance, just 1/3 of adult women participate in the labor market. World Bank estimates suggest that the GDP per worker in South Asia could be a little over 2 times higher if the quantity and quality of human capital is improved. Human capital investments today will be critical to helping economies bounce back from the pandemic in the medium term. But investing in human capital amid competing priority will take commitment and political will. And the World Bank is ready to help. We provided a lot of financial and technical assistance to help the countries and people of South Asia during COVID-19. For example, more than 857 million vulnerable people across South Asia benefited from nearly $3 billion for social safety nets, which helped them buy medical supplies. As well as food. The bank provided $2.5 billion for 15 health projects which helped 23,000 hospitals and healthcare centers provide better care for their COVID-19 patients. And across South Asia, the bank provided 2.8 billion for 12 education projects that expanded remote learning and provided training to benefit millions of students and teachers. And we have provided more than $1 billion to support vaccine purchases and deployment in six South Asian countries. More than 82 million doses have been contracted using World Bank financing. The World Bank will continue to support our partners as they put in place policies and programs that will both recover the human capital losses and move human capital development forward in new and transformational ways. Our goal is to support, is to support a people-centered economic resurgence in South Asia. And very importantly, the World Bank will be a long term partner of all of you, of you. We will stand with you, accompany you in all your efforts to improve the human capital. So we look forward to engaging with you on this agenda and hearing your reflections on how South Asia can boost investments in human capital to drive green, equitable, and sustainable growth for all its citizens. Thank you very much and back to Lynn. Thank you so much, Axel, for those insightful, uh, remarks that set the stage so well for our discussion today. So now, let me turn to the questions we asked earlier on the Menti poll. Thank you so much for your votes, and let's see how, um how you all responded. All right, so people um felt uh the majority was that 48% would be the average uh potential of a child born today. And let me say that question is absolutely correct. Um, According to the World Bank's 2020 human capital index analysis, using the pre-pandemic data, on average, a child born in 2019 in South Asia could expect to attain only 48% of their full potential. This makes South Asia the 2nd lowest region in terms of its human capital attainment. There are many factors that explain this, but one important consideration is the relatively low public spending on human capital in the region. In 2019, for example, South Asian governments spent only 1% of its GDP on health. This is significantly lower than other regions, especially Latin America and the Caribbean, where that share is close to 4%. Unfortunately, COVID has dealt a further devastating blow to South Asia's human capital, which was already at a tenuous point at that 48%. So this leads to our second poll question. How much would COVID-related learning losses cost in terms of South Asia's GDP? So here we have a pretty good distribution of, of answers, uh, not an easy question to answer, but the correct answer is $1.9 trillion US dollars. This number demonstrates just a fraction of the steep cost of the pandemic to human capital. In addition to these causes of learning losses, COVID has also led to enormous losses in health and social protection. Unless this is reversed, these losses could be permanent and lead to a significant disruption in South Asia's economic growth potential. So we do have one final question, which will be open during the coming up panel section, uh, upon which we invite you to share your thoughts. The question is, what should be South Asia's number 1 priority for human capital investments as the region recovers from COVID? Please use only one or two words because we will display this as a word cloud after the panel discussion. Our vice president for Human Development, Monta Murti, will show the results of this poll after the panel discussion. Thank you very much. And now I hand over to the Vice President for South Asia at the World Bank, Hart Schaeffer, to moderate a discussion with key policymakers from South Asia about how they are planning to invest in human capital for sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth. Over to you, Hart. Thank you. Thank you very much, uh, Lynn. Thank you, Axel, and good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening to all our guests, distinguished guests and panelists. I now invite our distinguished panel to reflect on how their governments are balancing the need between investing in people and investing in other sectors to promote equitable economic growth at a time of recovery from COVID. We have about 45 minutes for this section, and we have 7. Panelists, and we will start with a round where I'll ask each one of the panelists how their governments are going to approach this. And after that, we'll have a lightning round where I just ask one question and I'll ask you to answer in a very short 1 minute question to leave this with the audience. For your main intervention, you have 5 minutes and after 4 minutes. you will see my pictures up on the screen, which is a signal that you have one minute and I kindly ask you to uh to come to to closure with your statement. If that is OK with everybody, then let me turn now to the first panelist. And as the first panelist, we have the Honorable Minister Zannaid Ahmed Palak, the Minister of State for Information and Communication Technology in Bangladesh. And, uh, Minister, Bangladesh has um has just made effective one of the World Bank projects uh that is focusing on enhancing digital government and economics in um in the country. And I wanted to ask you, uh, why did Bangladesh decide to focus on human capital investments uh to further enhance Bangladesh's uh digital economy. I think that is absolutely critical because we, we all agree that South Asia uh can have a lot of tremendous benefits by drawing in more digital technology. And I would like to hear from you how you see that, um, happening in Bangladesh. Over to you, Minister. Thank you very much for your kind introduction, dear World Bank colleagues and honorable ministers from Bhutan, India, Maldives, and Nepal. I'm delighted to be speaking at this high-level virtual event on investing in human capital system in South Asia. The key to sustainable, inclusive, and, uh, resilient growth. A topic very close to my heart as the key focus of building digital Bangladesh has been in investing in human capital development. The founding father of the nation, Banguunhu, Sheikh Mujib Rahman, Believed that the greatest asset of Bangladesh is Its soil and its people. We have had a very high population since our independence, and many global experts deemed that to be our curse. However, Bangu Bunhu did not see it that way. He believed that the huge population of Bangladesh would someday be our greatest pride and that exactly what his daughter, the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina has achieved through the digital Bangladesh vision. Bangladesh is at the crossroad of a population dividend. The Majority of our population is under the age of 25, and Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina envisioned that the young generation, if guided right, would become Bangladesh's greatest strength, and she believed in the power of youth to bring prosperity of Bangladesh. Digital Bangladesh vision has been implemented under 4 pillars digital government, connectivity, and infrastructure, human resource development, and ICT industry promotion. Under the direct leadership of the architect of Digital Bangladesh and the ICT affairs advisor to the Honorable Prime Minister, Mr. Shaji was a joy. He stressed on the importance of human resource development and under the ICT division. In the last decade, we have trained over 2 million people in ICT skills, working closely in the education ministry. We have also introduced ICT as a subject in primary and secondary education, and with the universities, we are supporting through providing them advanced labs that help the students experiment with technology. We are building 35,000 Sheikh Rassal digital labs across the nation in schools and colleges that will provide infrastructure support for the students to learn and excel in ICT. We're building Sheikh Kamal IT Training Incubation Center in district level, which will provide ICT entrepreneurship training and incubation facilities, also building 300 schools of Future and Sheikh Hassina Institute of Frontier Technologies to groom the future. Scientific minds of Bangladesh. We have many projects under ICT division focusing on developing human capital. The World Bank has been a close partner in some of them like the leveraging ICT for growth, governance and employment and. The support to Kaliakur High-tech Park, Bangladesh now boosts about 650,000 freelancers, making its second destination for online jobs. And these freelancers are accounting for almost half a billion dollars in ICT export revenue. We are also designing programs to impart digital literacy to the thousands. Of workers temporarily migrating to different parts of the world for jobs. Bangladesh has over 10,670 million people, of which 70% are under the age of 35. Giving Bangladesh a very large workforce. The Honorable Prime Minister and her ICT affairs advisor, Mr. Sajibai Joy, knew that if we can leverage this population, the growth of Bangladesh will be phenomenal. That is exactly why focus on investing in human capital to develop digital Bangladesh and is also a core part of our strategy to achieve smart Bangladesh by 2041. Excellencies, we have achieved Digital Bangladesh vision 2021. The Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Next vision is to establish Smart Bangladesh, and we're really happy to share that, um, World Bank is helping us to develop our, uh, digital economy and, uh, government system, ecosystem. And, uh, we are really thankful to World Bank for helping us, and, uh, we have introduced a new unique project enhancing digital government and economy in partnership with the World Bank. We're going to set up Center for 4IR in different universities, and also we are setting up innovation hubs in universities. Finally, I would like to sum it up, uh, with a quote from Honorable ICT Affairs. Uh, I quote, People of Bangladesh will be primarily working in the knowledge industry, in the high tech sector, providing knowledge-based services around the world and not just being a part of the 4th industrial revolution, but leading the charge for the 4th industrial revolution. Find your own niches, find your own innovations, find new technologies. Don't imitate, innovate. Thank you for listening to me. Thank you very much, Minister, and I'm very glad that you mentioned the export potential because our analysis of the World Bank tells us that the, the potential of information technology exports is enormous for South Asia, and it will help the economies to grow and be on a sustainable growth trajectory. Of course, for that we need investment in education. The other side of the same coin is investment in health. And for that we are going to Bhutan. Um, I welcome the Honorable Minister Leong Podesh Nwanggo. Minister, it's great to see you again. Although it's on screen. I wish it was in person. And uh let me congratulate you on uh Bhudan's Effective combating of the COVID-19 crisis. And I think we have all been watching how your healthcare system, your vaccination effort really has set an example for the rest of the world. Now, would you please share with us what, how you see investment in health supporting to the long-term recovery and productivity in Bhutan. The floor is yours, Honorable Minister. Thank you, Mr. Schafer. It's always a pleasure to see you. Uh, before I start, I would like to thank the team at the World Bank, uh, for contributing to this success as well. If not for your generous support, it would not have been possible. Um, we, as, as we speak, I think we have vaccinated 99.9% of our eligible population with first dose, and 97.5% of our eligible population with the second dose. Uh, we are rolling out the second booster as we speak, and, um, uh, so far, I think, uh, it's been a huge success, um, under the benevolent guidance of His Majesty the King himself. Uh, more importantly, I think, uh, the pandemic has taught us two lessons, I must say. One, that we are very rich in social, uh, capital. Um, I think the nation came together, a lot of solidarity. Um, respect, trust, and confidence in the governance, in the health worker, so we were able to achieve, um, the, the, the result that you see today for, for COVID management. With Omicron today being very mild, uh, uh, less hospitalization, we are able to actually plan country's recovery as we speak. Um, so, um, but at the same time, uh, I think it was a realization moment for all of us that, Uh, there is a greater need, uh, to, to build human capital, uh, uh, for the country. And this is where we are looking at, uh, a two-pronged strategy. One, immediately, uh, that needs to happen is we need to address the unemployment among the youth. Um, and I know World Bank is also currently working. Uh, with the Ministry of Labor, uh, ADB is also working with the labor in terms of looking at how do we reskill our youth. Uh, demographically similar to Bangladesh, Bhutan is also a demographically a very young population. Uh, so, so I think we have the demographic dividend, uh, on our side, uh, to invest in reskilling our youth. Uh, His Majesty has this wonderful initiative of, uh, upskilling, uh, and reskilling our youth so that they are available, uh, for the 21st century, uh, productive work sector. Uh, so this is immediately that are happening in the country under the Ministry of, uh, Labor and Human Resource. Um, so my ministry in particular, we are looking at it from the long term investment, uh, in human capital, and that, I think, uh, the delegates here knows, uh, far more than I do, uh, that I think there is a greater need to invest in young children. Um, greater need to invest in mother and child. Uh, so when we took over the government, uh, we formulated a policy to accelerate, uh, mother and health child across the country. And that, that is where we call it, uh, the, the, the 1000 Golden Day plus, uh, program, where we would, uh, provide comprehensive, uh, mother and child health services. Uh, along with it, the conditional cash transfers are also built into it to encourage uptake of services. Although we had fairly good, uh, uptake of mother and child services, it is not uniform across the country, so there are regional barrier, uh, disparities. So this is through this project, what we are trying to, uh, implement is rolled out and scale up, uh, uh, mother and child health services across the nation. So a child that, uh, from the day of conception till the child is 2+, and, and this is where Ministry of Health will be responsible for this, uh, that time. And then after 2.5, we would hand it over to Ministry of Education for the ECCD programs that Ministry of Health, uh, Education will roll out. Uh, and the whole idea is that, uh, that we build the human capital, uh, from, from the time of conception, invest in our children. And, and I think, uh, there are many studies, I think we need not quote the studies here that says, if you invest $1 in a child's, uh, well-being, uh, early on, I think we achieve the maximum, uh, return. If the investment happens, uh, early on, um, in a, in a child's life. Um, so this is one of the biggest projects that the Ministry of Health is handling, and this will be rolled out across the country in the most comprehensive manner. Um, and that will also give us an opportunity to look at economic empowerment of women. Um, if you look at the financial data right now for Bhutan, uh, women, um, having a bank account, uh, is significantly lower than men. Um, women have less financial literacy. Women have less access to financial resources. So through this program, we are not only, uh, investing in the child, but we are also empowering the mother so that she's. Financially independent, and she's given these financial, um, investment opportunities in terms of, uh, um, access to loans, access to, uh, uh, uh, skilling programs so that she is independent, uh, that she has the financial independence. And the financial literacy to, uh, to, to, to be able to Uh, productively participate, uh, in the developmental agendas. So, so this is, um, under the Ministry of Health. Now, if you look at the education sector overall, I think, um, may, may I remind you of the 5 minute limit, please? OK, thank you. This will be my last, uh, so I think in the education sector, what we have done is that, uh, uh, we have made, uh, teachers the high, the, the, the highest paid. Profession, uh, in Bhutan. So this is where we, we are actually recognizing that investment in the children requires that they have a good education. If you're thinking good education, then we need to invest in our teachers. So these are all programs that are targeted towards building the human capital, um, in, in the country, uh, uh, as we speak. So back to you, Mr. Schaffer. Thank you. Thank you very much, Minister, and I know that you have. very passionate about this. Because I remember 3 years ago when I visited Bhutan and we met, you told me about this program. And I'm so happy to see that this is really has taken off and it is setting an example of what one can do. And, and I'm very glad that you're linking it to women empowerment because that is one area, making sure that more women are participating in the economics of their, of their countries in South Asia is absolutely critical. We are not going to India, but we're staying in the region. We are, we are going to the state of Megalaya. And um I have the Honorable Minister James Sama, the Minister of Health and Family Welfare from Magalya State uh with us. And um Honorable Minister, you, um, your state has made um human capital as a priority for economic recovery and for your development vision at the state level. And I would like to invite you to share with us what particularly you are doing, how you bring this agenda to the fore. Over to you. I think your microphone is muted. Uh, we cannot hear you. I'm extremely sorry. Yeah, I think, am I audible now? Now we can hear you. Please, Minister, the floor is yours. So, uh, as I was saying, um, you know, uh, that thank you so much for this opportunity. I think just listening to everybody, it's, it's a great learning experience for us as a state. And, um, uh, we are a very small state in the northeastern part of India, but, uh, you know, we call Meghalaya, it's just got a population of 3.2, uh, roughly around 3.2 million. And, um, as a state, we've also, uh, just like the rest of the world, uh, the COVID-19 pandemic, um, exposed the limitations of our health, uh, our education, and, uh, also the other social service delivery, uh, systems that we have. And, um, though the pandemic uh challenged our local and state level capabilities and capacities to prepare and respond, uh, it also provided us an impetus to reassess our priorities. And as a result, uh, Meghale has recommitted to adopting approaches and innovations that will continuously, uh, um, you know, strive to improve the quality and comprehensive. of human capital services, uh, for its, uh, people, which is why I'm very, very happy that this, uh, program, uh, organized by the World Bank is touching on the subject of, uh, human capital systems. Uh, in 2021, uh, Megale approved, uh, a state health policy, and this policy aims to bring out a three dimensional positive healthcare model focusing on preventing. On curative and enabling aspects, the policy envisions a rights-based framework in providing health care, uh, for its citizens, especially for the poor and the marginalized on the demand side, um, you know, uh, uh, uh, uh, based on this policy on the demand side, we are actively looking to engage local stakeholders and deploy a bottom up approach, um, and we are. In the process of creating village health councils whereby a forum will be formalized for discussion on various health related parameters. This, uh, I hope, will also help in generating awareness and allow for active participation of the entire community. The village health councils will also help to generate demand for the health services in tandem. With the government's efforts to address uh supply side challenges, the idea is to bring about a sense of ownership among the people about solving problems that are often left unidentified or unaddressed, and our state health policy has been adopted, uh, recently, and we expect that um all these village health councils will be in place within the end of this financial year. We also think that uh it is important to fill capacity gaps wherever possible through the intervention of uh private partners. This becomes especially important in rural healthcare, and the state government has openly collaborated with private partners like Grameen Healthcare and Apollo Healthcare in our rural areas to generate demand for health services through their unique interventions. Uh, the state already has about 6 centers, uh, which has touched about 300, uh, villages, and we plan to have about 20 more such centers, which will increase the tally to about 1000 villages by the end of the year. I believe that such, uh, collaborations are already bearing fruit for, uh, as an example, uh, I'd like to mention, uh, one particular village by the name of Zhengjal, which is in a rural area. Uh, it's in the district in Meghalia, which is becoming 11 stop. Medical center specializing in the treatment of mother and child health. Uh, after the government, uh, we went into a partnership, uh, and collaborated with the Christian Medical College, uh, from a southern state, uh, in the part of India, southern part of India. An experienced team of pediatricians and gynecologists have already been giving their services to the people of this area for the last 2.5 years, but we formalized this agreement with them, and it's really bearing fruit. And this year itself, a critically ill 3 month old baby was saved at this newly inaugurated subdivisional hospital, uh, due to the timely presence of a pediatrician. Lastly, uh, drawing lessons from COVID, we are creating a public healthcare. At the community and system level, calling them community gender health activists, the CGHA, and they will be community members who will be trained in public health matters who can in turn participate in village health councils, creating an on-round demand. There are already over 1000 such partners identified and trained at the ground level. On the supply side, we are looking to enhance the capability of the health, social welfare, and rural development workforce on understanding the need for human development interventions. The state has already signed a $40 million agreement with the World Bank to improve the quality of health services and strengthen the state's capacity to handle future health. Emergencies, the project, um, the Meghalaya Health System Strengthening Project will enhance the management and governance capabilities of the state and its health facilities, expand the design and coverage of the state's health insurance scheme by the name of MHIS, improve upon the quality of health services through certification and better human resource systems, and, um, enable efficient access to medicine and uh diagnostics. Another fundamental aspect that becomes important for a hill state like ours is the delivery of last mile healthcare services. In the state we have about 450 healthcare subcenters. May I remind you of the time, please? OK, I'll just wrap it up, and we aim to touch about 800, uh, subcenters within 2025, and we've also deployed a smart village movement to empower communities in the rural areas, um, you know, so these are the kind of interventions that we are, um, uh, we are, uh, you know, uh, bringing about, and, um, I will not take much time, but, uh, thank you so much for this opportunity and, uh, thank you to the World Bank for, um, you know. This, uh, organizing this program and, uh, through this core mission, we're also trying to, uh, hopefully demonstrate a new public health playbook that could, uh, get a state like Megale to reap the benefits of our, uh, demographic dividend, um, and effective human capital management, um, by achieving the transition from, uh, public, uh, safety nets to public security nets mechanism mechanism. So thank you so very much, Minister. I really appreciate that you're sharing with us some of the on the ground. implementation successes but also challenges, and I'm particularly grateful that you mentioned two things. One is the involvement of the community. This is absolutely critical and usually it's a recipe for success. And the other one is I'm very glad that you are bringing in the private partners because this is a lot of untapped potential here in particular in the in the in the in the in the human capital and the healthcare sector. We are now moving to the Maldives, an island state that is Of course prone to shocks and whether it's the pandemic that where tourism basically came to a halt. Now with the Ukraine war we are seeing that tourism numbers from Russian and Ukrainian tourists, which accounted for 20% of arrivals, has come down or has come down to almost zero. And of course there's climate change, and I'm very happy that we have the Honorable Minister Amina Shona here, the Minister of Environment, Climate. Climate change technologies in the Maldives. Um, Honorable Minister, the last time I was in the Maldives, you were, I think in at COP 26, and uh we didn't meet. But, uh, your contribution on screen when we talked about the digital economy was fantastic. And I would like you to share with us what is it that you are doing to, uh, in the Maldives to deal with the pressing needs for skills, uh, enhancement and for diversification of the economy. The floor is yours, Minister. Thank you, um, Hart Schaeffer. Um, it was a great pleasure, um, for me to represent the Maldives in COP 26, but I was extremely saddened to miss, um, your visit to the Maldives as well. First of all, um, thank you for inviting me to speak, um, at this panel that's so critical for South Asia region. The Maldives places great importance on addressing the need for a clean environment, meeting the challenges of climate change, and harnessing technology. As you're very well aware, we are a very young country. More than 40% of our countries under the age of 40 as well. So we have a critical need as we emerge from a global pandemic to invest in human capital to be that is ready and prepared to address emerging issues that's an existential threat for for our country. Uh, our climate goals are extremely ambitious and necessary as well. We are working with the, with the World Bank to enhance our programs in energy transition, conservation, and waste management as well. We are on track to reduce our emissions by 26% by 2030, but we also have an ambitious target to reach net zero. By 2030, given support from the international community, we are phasing out single-use plastics by 2023. We are also protecting our most ecologically significant areas in the Maldives. We've already protected 13% of our reef areas. So through our mitigation targets and investment in modern. Solid waste management policies and conservation, we will be able to develop and redevelop island economies that's more resilient, clean, and smart. So diversifying our country's tourism, like you mentioned, is, is critical for us at the moment when there's so much going on in the world in terms of the challenges. We face because of climate change, but also what's happening at a global level in terms of geopolitics as well. So we, we, it's critical for us to invest both in tourism and fisheries to diversify and how well we are able to bounce back from um situations that we are in currently. Fortunately, our tourism has bounced back, uh, very quickly after the pandemic, but like you said, now we are faced with a crisis and hopefully we'll also be able to come out of it. But the wellness of our tourism industry is so much dependent on how well and healthy our marine life and ecosystem and our pristine beaches are as well. Because essentially, people come to the Maldives because it's very beautiful and we want to preserve the integrity and the beauty of our natural ecosystems for more people to be able to visit. For this, we also need diversified skills. We need to mobilize our human capital at scale, focusing on going local to global. And bringing the global good practices to strengthen local environments, to promote green transition in the longer term in relation to the current economic recovery. So protection of mangroves, thriving reefs, and whale shark points is just not enough for a country like the Maldives. We need to develop the right skills in our island communities to. Create green jobs, connect conservation with jobs, and how it contributes to our economic development at an island level for youth to have these skills in our islands, for them to know how to manage these protected areas. This is what will diversify our tourism, and this will bring tourism and increase our resilience at an island level. Technology is critical for a country like ours. We, we're not just a small island state. We are a very large ocean state, so we cannot develop without investing in technology. So both to diversify our economy and to monitor our very large ocean territory that we have and to understand what's happening to our islands because of The impacts of climate change. We need to rapidly invest in technology and that's why I am pleased to work with um your, your team at the bank to deploy digital, uh, to deploy support for uh what's going on in the Maldives for our digitalization as well. We are investing in, um, digitalization, particularly on digital identification and emerging tools. Such as drones to both monitor the impact of climate change while also creating the means to target services and support in case of natural disasters as well. So collectively with uh different ministries in the Maldives, we are investing and mobilizing human capital investment at a scale, and our commitment is evident through the collaboration on skills development. Programs and trainings between two World Bank finance projects. Um, one is the Maldives Clean Environment Project and, um, the Miri Project, uh, which focuses on joint efforts in preparing young people for new green jobs and technology enabled development. And just, um, this month, I have, um, I had the pleasure of launching the first ever A national competency standard for a waste to wealth management program that was developed with the support of the World Bank. So this is the first time a Tibet-level program has been initiated in the Maldives to equip the young people and island communities to understand how we are able to effectively address the problem of solid waste management. So I'll leave it there. And, um, a great pleasure to be here and um I look forward to a discussion on this as well. Thank, thank you, Minister, and particularly thank you for highlighting the importance of creating green jobs, uh, particularly for the Maldives, which will be so central to reinforce the resilience and the preservation effort that the Maldives has has launched, but also to work on digitalization. I think that is another that links to what we heard from uh from Bangladesh and it is equally important for the Maldives. Uh, we are now going to Pakistan. And we have two speakers from Pakistan, one at the national, one at the provincial level. And the first speaker is the Honorable Minister Aisha Pasha, the Minister of State for Finance and Revenue. Minister, you are fairly new. I mean, with only days in your, in your job, but you have of course been in government before. And I would like you to share with us what are the key investment priorities for human capital in Pakistan. Over to you. Thank you. Thank you so much. And yes, you have rightly, I indicated that I've just taken over. And believe me, this is not the best of times to take over. Uh, but nonetheless, uh, let me, um, start by, um, agreeing with everyone and you in particular that human capital, um, is something that is fundamental to economic development and progress of any country. And no country can, you know, reach its full potential until an unless it's, um, it's the nation is well educated, has good health, and has good opportunities, economic opportunities to make them. These are drivers of. Sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction in any country and investments in human capital are very important. Let me also admit, while recognizing that that investment in human capital and in youngsters has not been adequate in our part of the world. And, uh, I'll be candid enough to recognize this and admit this because uh investments in uh social and infrastructure and human capital doesn't bear bear benefits, uh, quick economic benefits like some of the infrastructure projects can do. And so they're inevitably on the lower scale as far as political benefits and their, uh, importance is concerned, politically speaking, and the benefits are concerned. But the point is that we missed the opportunity to create the virtuous cycle between physical and human capital and growth and poverty reduction. Now, Pakistan is a, is a, is a potential country with 215 million people of growth, with 63% of its population between 25 years of age, which gives Pakistan a distinct and unique position in this, in, in this situation. And uh the problem is that with the macroeconomic crisis that we have, we have experienced now, particularly so following the COVID crisis, and now the, the latest uh political situation that is, has occurred, which the global community is facing macroeconomic challenges following the Ukraine war. These, uh, challenges have actually put all the economies, the macroeconomies of a number of countries under stress, Pakistan being no exception to it. And given the, uh, the financial, uh, situation that the country faces, the distribution of resources towards macroeconomic stability and human capital becomes even bigger issue. So we are entering a situation where the situation, which was not so good, has been further aggravated because of exogenous factors around us. The high inflation, global prices, the international environment has put our finances under so much more pressure and therefore our task to maintain investments in human capital is so much more challenging. But having said that, Let me also indicate to you that this government, that I, at least I am representing at this stage, recognizes that even in these critical situation, where high inflation had the, uh, the, the economic crisis has put um. Poverty has undone the progress that the country has achieved in a few last few years, some, some period in improving poverty level in the country and improving human development indicators in the country, and some financing of the country. We will plan, we plan to reverse it. We will do whatever is possible for us to do so, and the way we have actually um Dealt with the COVID crisis, which has been recognized internationally as a good effort, but not only in terms of curtailing its health, uh, uh, implications, but also its macro economic fallouts, we plan to actually continue on to. Focus on this. And let me tell you what are some of the things that we plan to do coming in and taking things forward. As I have reiterated that I realized very clearly that in managing the overall macroeconomic situation, we cannot forget. That the people of Pakistan have gone through very high and intensive problems and human uh of maintaining the quality of life that they have, but we also want them not only to maintain that quality of life, but, put them back on track on higher growth trajectory through our investments in human capital, uh. Human capital. Now, uh, uh, coming back to some of the initiatives that are taken forward, the last government introduced a number of initiatives uh in social protection, which were essential for us to really insulate and somehow cushion the lower segments of the population so that these structural happenings globally as well as locally do not. Uh, uh, a disproportionately heavier burden on the lower segments. We plan to look at those number of plans and continue on, particularly with the Buenazir Income Support Program, which is a cash transfer program to insulate the people in the lower segments. Uh, we do not want to, however, uh, you know, promote dependency syndrome. We want to get them back onto track by reviving uh them and using technology in this digit digitally transformed world to put them back on track, uh, on, uh, and increase employment and so on and so forth. Um, education and health are important priorities, will continue to be, uh, uh, for us. I believe that for a large number of coun with the country with as large a population as ours, preventive health has to be focused enough on so that the need for curative health isn't there. We will plan to do likewise to the 5 minute. Yes, uh, so let me conclude by saying that, uh, the priorities are we stand committed to the sustainable development goals. We know that in the digitalized world, transformation will take us, will need to be adopted, particularly given our large youth population, and we stand committed to, uh, promoting and bringing back our kids into school which have lost. Jobs and their schooling because of the poverty conditions. And with this, I in my, my initial few remarks, and we look forward to the discussion later on. Thank you very much, Minister, and thank you for highlighting the challenges from your perspective, um, dealing with the finances and how global events can actually put additional pressure on the fiscal space that is. there for all kinds of investments, including for investment in human capital and how you are going to prioritize this. I think it was very interesting. We're staying in Pakistan, but we are going to the provincial level. We're going to the KP province and um I would like to welcome the Honorable Minister Twaha Chakra, the Minister of Finance and Health of the KP province. Uh, Minister, I would like you to share with us how your province is actually dealing with uh the issue of human capital and how you are tapping into the potential of um of uh girls and women uh through promoting education and human capital. Uh, the floor is yours, Minister. Um, can you hear me well? We can hear you loud and clear, minister. Well, um, I'm, uh, honored to be participating, uh, and, um, this is a, uh, passionate topic, uh, for the provincial government. It's a passionate topic for me personally, uh, it's a passionate topic for the former Prime Minister Imran Khan, um, under whose leadership we worked over the last 3, 3.5 years. Look, um, Heber Pakhtowa, uh, under this particular government we've made investing in human capital the actual fulcrum of, uh, the investments in the work that government does and the relationship that it actually has, uh, with the citizenry. Uh, in the context of Pakistan, we're a small province, but 40 million people is not small, um. If I just jump to the results first, I think the latest UNDP result actually showed the, um, the, the actual fruits of some of the work that has happened over here in terms of actual, actually reducing economic disparity more than any other province or any other federating unit in Pakistan, but it's a job that's only just begun, of course, right? I think we have a long way to go. Because if we really zoom in, I mean, what's actually, what, what's actually helped us get to where we have, it is massive investments in health, it is massive investments in education. It is an openness to transformational reform and uh hopefully I'll have 30 seconds to talk about the um universal health insurance program that we pioneered, right? But it's really about putting the daily lives, livelihoods, and the development of citizenry above all else. Um, it's showed in job numbers. It shows in, it showed in the opportunities that we provide to the citizenry of this province in terms of migrating their skills outside of the province in the rest of the country, uh, as well as, um, uh, outside of Pakistan. Heber Potuwa provides, while it's about sixth of the population, provides about 40% of the expat Pakistani, uh, labor force, right? And so a combination of investing in people, investing. In the economy of this province, uh, and, and investing in relationship with this diaspora that's abroad has had a massive, massive impact on, on, on actually the economic development of the province where the human capital over here has got to. Getting specifically to the point, I cannot say that in absolute terms, I'm proud of where we are specific to uh investing in women and girls. Um, there's been a lot of work done, and I'll briefly talk about it, but I think the reality is that Pakistan as a whole, including K Heper Potowa, actually has a massive gap in terms of the labor force participation of women. Uh, it's one of the lowest in the region, and that is something that we have to transform and if I were to pick three areas where we transform it, I think first is, of course, uh, investing in education. And I think in terms of investing in education, um, what has happened across Pakistan in the last decade. And in particular has happened after the devolution of social sector, social sector subjects to the federating units rather than the center is huge investments in education, not just have the number of girls schools increased, the number of schools have increased, uh, the, the, the number of teachers hired has increased, um, massively, um, the honorable, uh, MNA Doctor Aisha. Pasha, I remember when I was working in Punjab, I was the finance minister there as well. We've made investments across the board. I think in this province alone we've invested in almost 200,000 new teachers over the last 7 or 8 years, and all of those through a new transparent merit-based process, the majority females, the majority in girls' schools. Similarly, I think the other big transformation that is happening across education and health. is one where we are actually investing in operationalizing the infrastructure rather than a traditional development world uh infatuation with building more bricks and mortar. And that is something that has been a huge focus in terms of um getting more service delivery out of the primary healthcare system, out of the secondary healthcare system. That I think are all integrated as well as the tertiary healthcare system which I think actually allowed Pakistan to do the tremendous job that it did in COVID. And again, the beneficiaries of a more empowered and a better functional health system is particularly the women of the country, uh, and even more so when you talk of the primary healthcare space. Minister, we are at the 5 minute mark. Sure, so just to close, right, in terms of primary healthcare, we are in the midst of the biggest primary healthcare reform. In the history of the country, happening in every basic health unit led by every basic health unit, and as we speak, out of 1000 basic health units, there's investment in infrastructure and human resources directly translating into outcomes. So in Peshawar, the footfall into basic health units has increased 350% in the last year because we have done so. Just one last point as we do this. If we invest in women and girls, I think we cannot underscore, and what we try and do here now is to foster champions, champions across classes from women in business to women that Are entrepreneurs out of their homes. I think it is the combination of these three things that are going to see a tremendous future ahead, uh, for women, for girls, and for, uh, human capital development across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and across Pakistan. Thank you very much, Minister. And thank you for highlighting the importance, particularly for Pakistan, of supporting women and girls. I think this was one of the key headlines also of our analytical work that we did on the Pakistan at 100. So thanks for sharing that with us. Uh, we are now going to, um, to Nepal. And I would like uh to Ask everybody to um to switch to the English interpretation. You will find an interpretation button, uh, on the right side of the screen to listen to English. Our, our speaker, um, is the Honorable Minister Devendra Podel, the Minister of Education, Science and Technology in Nepal. Um, and I would like to, to congratulate Congratulate Nepal for a very quick switching to remote learning uh during the pandemic. Nevertheless, um, just like any other country in the world that has switched to remote learning, there have been learning losses over the last two years. And Mr. Cordell, if you would please share with us how you are going to address making up for these learning losses. The floor is yours. Uh, good evening. To all Rome here. Manani Motrijevaru. Honorable ministers, ladies and gentlemen, uh, first of all, I'd like to express my happiness. Uh, for this opportunity to present in this roundtable titled Investing in Human Capital System in South Asia, The Key to Sustainable, inclusive and resilient Growth. Uh, I am glad to have this opportunity to present on Nepal's experience in educational sector during COVID-19 and its future plans. Mm. Mhm Family You got. Um, in order to continue the learnings of children, even at the time of difficulty caused by the COVID pandemic, we have adopted some good practices by using alternative, uh, teaching technologies. Um, uh, we immediately held a series of meeting of the education cluster, and we formulated educational emergency action plan, so, uh, that we could ensure that learnings of the students at the time of lockdown were uh uninterrupted. Uh, in this course of time, we developed several policies and directives such as alternative Learning Facilitation Directive, Student Education Learning Facilitation Directive, school health safety and sanitation standards, school reopening framework, Um, we also conducted orientation programs for the province and local labels so that they can, they could implement these policies and directives, adapt adapting them to their local context. Um, also, um, the educational regulations were revised to address the COVID-19 pandemic and similar pandemics in the context of federal governance structure, and the educational system was also adjusted in the light of the lost time due to the pandemic. Based on these policies and directives. Our local governments and schools were able to continue their teaching and learning as per their local circumstances by ensuring students' safety. The following efforts were made in this regard. Teaching was continued by adopting various means on the basis of the access and availability of technology. Uh, additionally, various multimedia such as radio, television, phone, and online portals were used to broadcast educational lessons. The national tele the state-owned television, Nepal Television, it also broadcasted 5 hours of educational content every day. Um, and also provisions were made to allow students displaced by the pandemic to take their board exams right from their own schools, and also home visits were conducted to facilitate the learning of differently-abled students, and also most of the students, they were contacted through telephone and close user groups uh during the pandemic and updates were Taken and this was done in cooperation with the telecom service providers and the local-level governments and schools. Um, and also to address the basic learning of children, the government made adjustment in curriculum and expanded the educational system. Um, also, in addition to the learning and development materials, psychosocial counseling programs were also carried out for the children. Uh, and also mobile apps and comprehensive online educational portals were also developed to facilitate children's learning. Despite the challenges, honorable ministers, um, there are some lessons as well. Um, Nepal's experience of telephone-based learning was recommended to the prioritized learning during COVID-19, the most effective ways to keep children learning during and post-pandemic report of the global. Education Evidence Advisory Panel. Additionally, uh, the implementation of smart lockdowns, uh, that, uh, uh, that was context-specific has also empowered our local labels to resume their schools as per their need and the context. Uh, one of the lesson that we learned was that we found out that only 34% of households in Nepal have internet installed. So therefore, it is necessary to adopt various learning platforms and methods to address the learning needs of all kinds of children. Although school have Resumed because of these efforts, there has been a huge loss in students' learning. Therefore, in order to address the learning needs of children in coming days, the government of school has taken steps to continuously develop uh receptivity, adaptivity, and resilience in our educational system. Um, so, uh, for this, we plan to develop learning reference materials for children, provide training to teachers, so they are able to use alternative means of teaching and instructing, and we'll also plan to orient our parents and guardians so that they can assist the learning journey of the children and um Um, of their children. The government of Nepal has prepared a school sector education plan currently, uh, recently, which includes a learning recovery roadmap. Under the roadmap, we'll provide additional resources and carry out necessary interventions to supplement children's learning. Uh, education has always remained a priority of government of Nepal, uh, to supply the the children's learning. The government is committed to increase share of education share in the national budget in coming days. Thank you. If you would answer one with one sentence, please. So we go very quickly around the uh the table and there's one question. What is your number one priority for human capital investments in your country as you recover from COVID? What is your number? Number one priority in human capital investments. And um and I would really like you to like everybody to stick to a one sentence answer uh to leave the audience with. And we are following the same order of speakers. And uh I first call on the Prime Minister from Bangladesh Palak. So one line answer would be, we'd like to give uh programming skills to all of our students from primary, secondary to tertiary level. So that would be our main challenge to provide programming and coding skills to our students. Thank you. Can I intervene and indicate that we can't hear you? Um, Oliver, what, what, OK, so what I was saying is programming and coding skills, um, are a priority for the digital economy in Bangladesh, and may I now move to the minister from Nepal, uh, Minister Venmo. In one sentence, what's the priority? Um, thank you. Uh, for us is, um, again, uh, investment in mother and child for an inclusive, um, Bhutan, uh, for tomorrow, so. Thank you very much, Minister. The the 1st 1000 golden days. Absolutely. Thank you. And we are moving now to Megalia State to Minister Sangma. In one sentence, what is your priority for investment? Um, we have a very high infant and, uh, maternal mortality rate in our state, and I think for us, the biggest challenge and, uh, our goal is to bring that down substantially. Thank you very much, Minister, and we are moving now to the Maldives. Minister Shona, what is the, in one sentence, what's the priority? She had to leave. She had to leave. She's written in the chat box that um the main thing in the Maldives is building resilience in all sectors is the most important part of human capital development. Very good. And let's move to Pakistan. Minister Minister Pasha, um, for Pakistan at the national level in one sentence, what is the priority? Actually, the, my first priority at this stage which will be to insulate the, the lowest segment of population to go further into poverty, uh, following the macroeconomic adjustment program. We have to insulate them and preserve human capital, uh, capital that we have. Thank you. And you have a very good program or safety net program in Pakistan that has really been effective. Thank you, Minister Chakra. Uh, for KP, what is your number one priority in investment in human capital? Look, it is very simple. At this point, it is simply, uh, as we talk of recovering from COVID, it is to get existing health infrastructure to work better. That is the biggest learning. We have 1,000+ BHUs, we have 200 secondary hospitals. And we've seen what the incremental investment can make in terms of a huge difference. I'm very excited about what we are doing and we're going to try and further fasten the pace. Thank you, Minister Jack Ryan. I think, uh, in all the countries in South Asia, we have seen, uh, where are the pressure points on the healthcare system. Uh, we have seen that during COVID-19. And I think now over the next years, we have to fix that to build in resilience and and prevent that, uh, uh, anything happens during the next crisis that is around the corner. Thank you very much for sharing that with us. And now I'm going to Minister Purel of Nepal. In one sentence, what is Nepal's priority investment in human capital? Uh thank you Nepalma Shikaikalagi Adarvadar Picasso. Uh, for us, it's to develop basic infrastructure for learning in schools, such as technology equipped classroom, capacity development of teachers, availability of educational materials, and use of technology. Um, so, the Ministry of Education intends to connect theoretical learning to employment. Panel around and uh we are a little bit over time, but I really appreciate that you all stayed with us. Uh it is now my pleasure to hand this over to um uh to Mamta Murthy, uh my colleague and the vice president for Human Development for closing remarks. And you also, Mate, I think you're also going to show us the the word cloud of the third question that Lenn asked. Over to you, Magda, for closing. Um, thank you, thank you, Hart, and I just want to say this has been an absolutely terrific session, and I really want to thank the panelists for their very thoughtful and thought-provoking remarks. Um, now, by way of conclusion, and I will be brief, let me just say that, um, oh, I see that the, uh, poll has gone up. Let me begin by saying that COVID-19 has been a terrible setback for human capital in the South Asia region. And there've been the deaths, which have been significant, deaths from COVID-19. There's been the closure of schools, which, uh, is, has, has been long. And, and then I think, um, COVID has also exposed, uh, um, the many people in the informal sector to hardship. And so it's not surprising, and now let's put up the poll results. It's not surprising to see the priorities that, um, listeners have identified. Uh. We can see that the number one priority is really on learning, education, and learning poverty. Um, and this is because the learning losses from school closures in the region have been significant, and this comes on top of a situation where, uh, learning happening in school was insufficient. And I was very pleased to hear from, from, um, uh, a number of panelists that the recognition of the need to get children back to school and to make a commitment, both a political commitment and a financing commitment to ensure that learning is resumed in school, schools now that they're open. A second block of priorities that I see here is around health, um, uh, uh, addressing food, uh, security, malnutrition, and pandemic preparedness. Um, and, and this doesn't come as a surprise. I think COVID-19 has exposed weaknesses of health systems. We heard a number of very good examples, the minister from, from, uh, from Khyber Pakh. Tulwa gave the uh uh prioritized the need for strengthening the healthcare system. There were good examples from Bhutan, from Meghaa, um, and, and so I think there are lots of innovations, uh, and experiences in the region that are worth sharing, strengthening basic healthcare, bringing in communities, and bringing the private sector and healthcare delivery. A third priority that I see here um is, is around social protection, malnutrition, the 1st 1000 days. Um, and I, if, if COVID-19 did, did, did anything, it really turbocharged the ability to reach, uh, populations with digital transfers, populations that hitherto were not covered by social safety nets. It seems that this to me, that This is an area that is, that is worth strengthening and building, because it will allow, uh, countries in the region to be able to deal with, with, uh, future shocks. Um, 1/4 and final area, um, and I, it's, it's a bit small, but it, it was here in the word cloud, but it was emphasized by all the speakers, is the area of, of, um, uh, innovation, whether it's innovation and service delivery. Whether it's innovation through technology, the minister from Bangladesh spoke about this, um, very eloquently, um, uh, whether it's innovation in the provision of skills for new jobs, uh, and the minister from the Maldives spoke about this. Um, we don't see, I think it's in, uh, all the speakers emphasize that technology is not a panacea, but it's a, it's a means to an end, and, and technology can really enable better human, human. Capital service delivery, it can also open up new jobs, uh, uh, uh, and, and having the right skills for those jobs is, is something that, that, that technology can engender. So with that, let me, uh, let me simply say that, uh, uh, uh, this was a terrific discussion. I think it's, uh, underlined the importance of human capital and investment in people for economic recovery in South Asia. Very good examples were shared, uh, uh, across countries, uh, including in, uh, especially in healthcare, but also in education and in skills and technology, and, and I hope that fora such as these can continue to build collective leadership and collective ownership of this agenda. With that, uh, thank you very much, and I guess I hand back, uh, to, to Lynn. Thank you very much, Mamta, and with that we close the session. Thanks everyone for your participation and for the very enlightening discussions we have had, and we look forward to the continued collaboration with everyone. Thank you all. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.

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