www.ppaf.org.pk Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund National Poverty Graduation Programme PROGRAMME GOAL To assist the ultra-poor and very poor in graduating out of poverty on a sustainable basis; simultaneously improving their overall food security, nutritional status and resilience to climate change ACTIVITIES Market Assessments Asset Transfers: Tangible and Intangible Interest Free Loans Trainings: Functional Literacy and basic business, Basic Enterprise, Development Training, Training of Interest Free Loan Recipients, Common Interest Group Trainings Social Mobilisation: Revitalization/Formation of Community Organisations, Village Organisations, Common Interest Groups (CIGs) Identification and Training of Community Resource Persons Community and school-based disaster risk management Awareness campaigns on SDGs Youth engagement activities Linkages development and coordination development Annual Poverty Scorecard Survey (for baseline & poverty graduation validation tracking) BACKGROUND GRADUATION APPROACH Since 2005, PPAF and IFAD have had a strong productive relationship with three successful projects, Restoration of Earthquake-Affected Communities and Households (REACH), Microfinance Innovation and Outreach Programme (MIOP) and Programme for Increasing Sustainable Microfinance (PRISM). PPAF’s graduation pilot, Targeting Ultra-Poor, was funded under MIOP where the asset transfer accompanied by enterprise training enabled families to increase incomes, which led to improved household food security, enrolment of children in schools, and creation of more assets. The success of the graduation pilot resulted in the expansion of PPAF’s graduation approach and eventually the design of the National Poverty Graduation Programme. The poverty graduation approach combines elements of three distinct approaches - social mobilisation, livelihoods development, and financial inclusion. The process involves the capacity-building of community organisations through strong social mobilisation support supports individual households to access multiple opportunities (from markets, private sector and government). PROGRAMME OBJECTIVE Enabling the rural poor and especially women and youth to realize their development potential and attain a higher level of social and economic wellbeing through a proven flexible and responsive menu of assistance