September 13, 2018: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has approved grants to fund 11 small-scale projects for socioeconomic uplift of the people in five priority sectors in different parts of the country.

Under its Ambassador’s Fund Grant Program (AFGP), the USAID has launched its new funding cycle at an event to recognize first 11 grantees of the Program aimed at improving people’s lives in social entrepreneurship, disaster preparedness, empowerment of vulnerable population and developing small scale energy solutions.

The AFGP is a five-year (2017-2022) initiative of the USAID managed by the Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability (TDEA) with an aim to improve the economic and social conditions of the people of Pakistan.

Addressing the ceremony, Chief Executive Officer of TDEA Shahid Fiaz commented on the five-year program saying it was highly committed to ensure the betterment of people in all four provinces as well as Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.

So far, 11 proposals have been accepted that would be contributing to their respective communities in multiple fields, he added.

US Chargé d'affaires John Hoover, in his remarks, said AFGP was one of the largest programs being run in more than 100 countries.

Though the US had also been supporting a lot of large scale projects in Pakistan, the provision of smaller scale grants was also vital, he remarked.

He further said that AFGP was a welcoming program as it provided funding to both the profit and non-profit entities.

Under the project, three grants have been provided for disaster preparedness projects in Jacobabad, Mansehra and Muzaffargarh and four grants for small scale energy solutions in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balchistan.

The program would also support projects to provide fruit dryer machines to people in KP, tailoring training to 100 transgenders in Multan and children in Kasur to protect them from sexual abuses.

The program would further support 130 women farmers to help them produce off season crops in Poonch area of AJK.

(APP)

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