Prince Karim Aga Khan highlighted the role of civil society in effectively contributing to better processes of democratic government. In many countries of Asia and Africa, He said, “Democracy is young and still relatively ineffective in support of modern development activities. While a strong civil society can and does help to counter-balance such ineffectiveness, the processes of democratic government must also receive more attention and support.”
An article by Aleeza Akbar
Aleeza is a communication & advocacy specialist at the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy.
It is a recognized fact that social development cannot be achieved by governments alone but requires broad based public and private partnerships, which involve participation of citizens at all levels. This realization has become more acute in the face of rising fiscal constraints and the fact that the bulk of public expenditure has been pre-empted by the costs of servicing defense and civil administration. It is also based on the recognition of the impediments to government delivery to poor and marginalized groups in relatively inaccessible backward areas.
The rapid growth of civil society in Pakistan as well as in other countries in the recent past and its emergence as a key player in the development agenda bears evidence to the same. Today, the contributions of this sector are being recognized by all stakeholders (government, national and international donors, private sector and the ordinary citizen) and nonprofit organisations (NPOs) are increasingly being considered as privileged partners in the effective delivery of social services, be it in education, health, poverty alleviation, or rights and advocacy.
Ismailimail 