| Administrative History | Allocations: 1949, 1961-1962, 1964-1993; programme spending in 1993/94, 1994/95; see later annual reports for any subsequent allocations.
From SCF's foundation in 1919 until 1947 Pakistan was part of 'British India'. During this period SCF aid to India included areas now in Pakistan, for example a grant to improve midwifery methods among the dais (local midwives) of Sind in 1929, and an appeal for Baluchistan earthquake victims in 1935.
In 1947 the partition of India led to the creation of Pakistan, which included much of modern-day Pakistan (West Pakistan) and Bangladesh (East Pakistan). In 1949 SCF made a donation of clothes and fabric for refugee children in Pakistan. SCF made allocations to East Pakistan for emergency relief following cyclones in 1964 and 1970. After the cyclone of 1970, SCF sent a Field Director and three nurses to work in Pakistan. By October 1971, SCF had set up a Mother and Child Health programme in Bhola, East Pakistan. In 1971 East Pakistan seceded from the union to form Bangladesh.
SCF sent flood relief in 1973 and earthquake relief in 1974. In the 1980s SCF began working with Afghan refugees in the North West Frontier Province in Pakistan. Projects included a medical relief programme, a joint programme with UNICEF for the development of Primary Health Care, and training of female health workers in Afghan refugee villages. From 1980 to 1995 SCF supported the Family Planning Association of Pakistan's Dai Training Scheme and Family Health project.
In the late 1980s SCF supported education initiatives including the British Pakistan Model School and Baluchistan Model Teacher Training Centre. In 1987-1988 SCF set up a food relief and seed distribution programme in Thar Desert in response to drought in the region. In the 1990s SCF established a Rural Development Project in Tharparkar, which included work relating to the use of child labour in the carpet industry in the Thar Desert. In 2002 SCF made an agreement with the Government of Pakistan to provide for seed support for drought stricken areas of Tharparkar and Kachho.
In June 2015 'The Times' reported that Pakistan had ordered SCF to leave the country, accusing it of 'anti-Pakistan' activities. Since the beginning of 2014 all SCF staff there had been Pakistani nationals, since foreign workers were ordered to leave. |