After banning — and later allowing — Save the Children to operate in Pakistan amid allegations that the aid group was working against national interests, government officials are now pushing for a new legislation called the Foreign Contributions Act to better monitor these organizations after reports revealed 65 percent of their funding are unaccounted for.
While efforts from the South Asian nation have been escalating the past few months to regulate nongovernmental organizations, several civil society experts believe such legislation may prove detrimental to the country’s development progress as it may “choke” the operations and growth of these groups.
But how important is a free philanthropic and civil society environment to countries’ efforts to achieve inclusive and sustainable development?
About the author
Lean Alfred Santos@DevexLeanAS
Lean Alfred Santos is a former Devex development reporter focusing on the development community in Asia-Pacific, including major players such as the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. He previously covered Philippine and international business and economic news, sports and politics.
