Federal govt increases stipend for Ehsaas Kafalat beneficiaries

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has increased the stipend of Ehsaas Kafalat beneficiaries following the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan, ARY News reported on Friday.

The federal government decided to increase the stipend of Ehsaas Kafalat beneficiaries up to Rs1,000 from February 1. The deserving families will get a Rs13,000 stipend under the Ehsaas Kafalat programme after an increase of Rs1,000.

According to the government, 8 million deserving families will get benefitted from the stipend raise. The federal government will give financial assistance of Rs13,000 twice a year.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Dr Sania Nishtar said that the federal government will bear additional expenses of Rs12 billion to Rs14 billion each year.

READ: ECC APPROVES INCREASE IN STIPEND FOR EHSAAS KAFALAT BENEFICIARIES

Earlier in December last year, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had approved a $603 million loan to help strengthen and expand the government’s ambitious Ehsaas social protection programme.

Using conditional cash transfers, the programme will support the implementation of Ehsaas, Pakistan’s national social protection and poverty reduction strategy.

“Under the Integrated Social Protection Development Program, ADB will provide a regular loan of $600 million and a $3 million grant from the Asian Development Fund, and will administer a $24 million grant from the Education Above All Foundation,” a statement by the ADB said.

READ: GOVT ENSURING ONLY DESERVING FAMILIES ACCESS EHSAAS KAFALAT: SANIA NISHTAR

“The program marks a significant shift in ADB’s strategic engagement in the social protection space in Pakistan in line with Ehsaas priorities,” said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov.

“ADB’s support will transition from unconditional cash transfers that provide income support to a mixed-modality approach that focuses more on conditional cash transfers for education, health services, and nutritional supplies that will help reduce intergenerational poverty through human capital development.”

The program supports the Ehsaas goal of expanding cash transfers to improve access to primary and secondary education up to grade 10 for children and adolescents of poor families, especially girls, and enhancing health services and nutrition for women, adolescent girls, and poor children.

It also aims to initiate coverage of accelerated learning programs at primary education level for overaged out-of-school children under conditional cash transfers.