By Ayesha Saba

The Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) is set to convene federal and provincial stakeholders on October 1-2, 2026 to develop a National Care Economy Policy and Roadmap with defined priorities, institutional responsibilities, timelines and monitoring indicators.

According to the documents available with Wealth Pakistan, the consultations will seek to create a common understanding of the concept, scope and dimensions of the care economy in the context of Pakistan, while bringing existing policies, programmes, services and institutional arrangements under review.

A key focus of the exercise will be identifying existing care services, policies, laws, programmes and institutional mechanisms operating at the federal and provincial levels.

The consultation will also assess gaps and challenges, including those relating to unpaid care work, providing policymakers and stakeholders with an opportunity to identify areas where policy and institutional responses require further development.

Another major objective is to clearly identify the respective roles and responsibilities of federal and provincial institutions to improve coordination.

The process will also seek to build consensus on strategic priorities and policy interventions, and develop the basis for preparing the National Care Economy Policy and Roadmap.

The proposed roadmap is envisaged to set out institutional responsibilities, priority actions, timelines and monitoring indicators, giving the policy-development process a defined implementation and accountability structure.

The documents further state that the Policy and Roadmap Development Process lays out a seven-stage pathway for moving from consultation to implementation and review. The process begins with the mapping of existing policies, programmes and services, followed by an assessment of gaps, challenges and needs.

The third stage involves the development of a Care Economy Policy Framework, while the fourth focuses on defining institutional roles and responsibilities.

The framework will then move towards the finalisation of policy and roadmap, followed by the development of a monitoring and evaluation framework.

The seventh and final stage envisages coordinated implementation and periodic review, indicating that monitoring and follow-up are intended to remain part of the policy process after the roadmap is finalised.

Credit: INP-WealthPk