National News

ISLAMABAD, (APP): The government is taking concrete
measures for promotion of education in Federally Administered
Tribal Areas (FATA) where literacy rate has increased to 33.3 percent.
According to FATA Development Indicator Household Survey
report (FDIHS, 2013-2014), released recently, 11.8 per cent of
FATA youth aged between 15-24 are unemployed.
The survey has been carried out by the Bureau of Statistics,
FATA Secretariat with a tripartite arrangement between, Pakistan
Institute of Development Economics and the Institute of Management
Sciences, Peshawar, with the financial support of Governance Support
Project FATA-Multi Donor Trust Fund.
It says there are marked gender differences in
literacy rate with 49.7 percent males in FATA are registered literate
against 12.7 per cent females.
About the health, water and sanitation data, the report says
only 8.9 percent of estimated population have access to piped
drinking water while 38.3 per cent of FATA households have flush
latrines. Only 6.3 percent houses have underground drainage system and only
29.5 per cent of births were attended by skilled health personals.
Moreover, the report says 0.7 percent children (age 2-9) have
at least one disability in overall FATA, furthermore 71.8 percent of
FATA people use radio as source of information.
During this exercise, 4,070 household were surveyed, all the
agencies and frontier regions were included except North Waziristan
and parts of Orakzai and Khyber agencies because of security
situation.
This report having more than 50 development indicators also
shows the comparison of FATA data with national and provincial
status.
The objectives of the survey is to make available quality and
reliable DATA and statistics on key development and socio economics
parameters to FATA planners and policy makers and importantly the
capacity development of the Bureau of Statistics and FATA
Secretariat for conducting future studies.
Before, 1998 census was the only source for the development
planning baseline, the absence of any reliable data prompted FATA
Secretariat to launch an initiative for conducting the FDIHS 2013-
14.
The data will be used as baseline for development planning of
FATA.