The World Bank announced on Saturday its approval of $700 million in funding for Pakistan, part of a multi-year program to reinforce the country’s economic stability and improve public service delivery.
The funds fall under the Public Resources for Inclusive Development — Multiphase Programmatic Approach (PRID-MPA), which has the capacity to unlock up to $1.35 billion overall. This includes $600 million for federal projects and $100 million for a Sindh provincial program.
The decision builds on an August World Bank grant of $47.9 million aimed at enhancing primary education in Punjab.
In a statement, Bolormaa Amgaabazar, the World Bank’s Pakistan country director, stated: “Pakistan’s route to inclusive and sustainable growth demands greater domestic resource mobilization, coupled with efficient, transparent use to achieve real benefits for citizens.”
She added that the MPA partners with federal and Sindh authorities to “produce concrete results—such as steadier funding for schools and health centers, equitable taxation, and robust data for policymaking—while protecting key social and climate spending and building public confidence.”
World Bank lead economist for Pakistan, Tobias Akhtar Haque, stressed that bolstering fiscal foundations is “vital for regaining macroeconomic balance, driving outcomes, and fortifying institutions.”
“With PRID-MPA, we’re rolling out a unified national framework to back reforms that widen fiscal capacity, boost human capital and climate resilience investments, and upgrade revenue collection, budgeting, and statistics,” he explained.
“These changes will direct resources effectively to frontline services, yielding improved results for Pakistanis through heightened efficiency and accountability,” he continued.
The federal portion targets fairer domestic revenue growth, better budget formulation and implementation, and upgraded data infrastructure for informed policies. Priorities encompass tax policy/administration overhauls, expanding the Integrated Financial Management Information System and e-procurement tools, targeted subsidy adjustments, and bolstering the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics-led national data system.
For Sindh, the program seeks to elevate provincial revenues, streamline and clarify payments, and expand data-driven governance. It will channel more public funds into inclusive growth, such as equitable primary healthcare financing and additional school support.
A November IMF-World Bank report, shared by Pakistan’s finance ministry, highlighted how regulatory fragmentation, unclear budgeting, and political influences are stifling investment and revenue potential.
