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New Study launched on leveraging social protection system for stunting prevention

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Dec 17, 2019, A new study in Pakistan has revealed a 15 percent reduction in stunting and 33 percent reduction in wasting in children at 24 months as a result of specialized nutritious foods (SNF), cash-based transfers, and social and behavioral change communication (SBCC). The joint study by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), the Aga Khan University, and the Integrated Reproductive Maternal Newborn, Child Health & Nutrition Program (IRMNCH&NP), focused on the impact of the in-kind provisions to prevent stunting among children aged between six and 23 months in Rahimyar Khan. In her remarks, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation stated, “Child stunting is a double-edged sword and remains a major barrier to the human capital development. It is linked to a number of factors including quality of water, sanitation and agricultural incontaminations etc. Within framework of Ehsaas, this new study will guide design and implementation of all nutrition specific policies and interventions on the basis of evidence.”

Oxford University professor praises Ehsaas

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Dec 16, 2019, Dr. Sabina Alkire, Professor at the Oxford University visited Pakistan from December 12-15 on the special invitation of Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant of the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and UNDP. Dr. Alkire is the Director of Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI), University of Oxford. Dr. Alkire is a global expert in poverty measurement and has developed the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). She was in Pakistan to assist with poverty estimations for Ehsaas. “This year, Dr. Sania Nishtar’s presentation of the innovative Ehsaas Strategy at the MPPN’s UN General Assembly event fomented keen interest. The reason? It had a coherent, high-profile problem-focused approach to poverty using many kinds of tools across different sectors and provinces: legal, financial, judicial, statistical, institutional. Coordination and management are the heart of the Ehsaas approach so diverse actors together could take out the thorns perpetuating poverty”, said Dr. Alkire.

Dr. Sania inaugurates two- day women expo in Islamabad

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Dec 15, 2019, Islamabad Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI) organized a two-day expo at Pak-China Friendship Centre on 14th and 15th December, 2019. Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation inaugurated the event. The annual event was attended by the women entrepreneurs from all over Pakistan while different NGOs, banks, multinationals, mobile operators, diplomats, and government officials participated in the largest women’s exhibition in Pakistan. Dr. Nishtar met with women entrepreneurs, encouraged them and visited their stalls featuring inspirational work of women in textiles, embroidery, jewelry and pottery etc. Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Nishtar said, “Ehsaas is keen to support women entrepreneurs. We will call the second meeting of IWCCI at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat soon to find solutions to problems of women entrepreneurs”.

Ehsaas ties the knot with Facebook

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December 14, 2019, In partnership with Facebook, the Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety Division launched the first-of-its-kind Design Hackathon on malnutrition at the National Incubation Centre in Islamabad. Over the course of two-days, the Design Hackathon will connect experts in malnutrition with digital marketers who, with additional support from Facebook, will help build innovative digital campaigns for social media around the challenges of malnutrition. This is the first in a series of Ehsaas – Facebook collaborative initiatives. “To fight malnutrition today, we need 21st century tools such as digital marketing techniques on social media that can reach wide audiences,” said Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation, speaking today at the launch event.

New Ehsaas Poverty Index Key to Tackling Poverty

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December 14, 2019, In partnership with Facebook, the Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety Division launched the first-of-its-kind Design Hackathon on malnutrition at the National Incubation Centre in Islamabad. Over the course of two-days, the Design Hackathon will connect experts in malnutrition with digital marketers who, with additional support from Facebook, will help build innovative digital campaigns for social media around the challenges of malnutrition. This is the first in a series of Ehsaas – Facebook collaborative initiatives. “To fight malnutrition today, we need 21stcentury tools such as digital marketing techniques on social media that can reach wide audiences,” said Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation, speaking today at the launch event.

Dr. Sabina Alkire calls on President of Pakistan to discuss the use of MPI for poverty policy

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Dec 13, 2019, Professor Dr. Sabina Alkire, Director of the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative together with Dr. Sania Nishtar called on honorable President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi in Islamabad. They briefed the President about a potential multidimensional poverty plus metrics for Pakistan to gauge progress and impact of Ehsaas programme. The President lauded expert inputs of Dr. Alkire for developing new Ehsaas index to tackle poverty that is currently in the pipeline. Dr. Alkire is here in Pakistan to share international experiences about the use of MPI for poverty policy. She works on a new approach to measuring poverty and well-being that goes beyond the traditional focus on income and growth. This multidimensional approach to measurement includes social goals, such as health, education, nutrition, standard of living and other valuable aspects of life.

Improving Learning Outcomes and Investing in Girls & Women Crucial to Pakistan’s Sustained Growth

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December 11, 2019,  A national 100-day action program to support girls’ education and women’s economic empowerment launched today at Quaid-e-Azam University, supported by the World Bank Group. The ‘Girls Learn, Women Earn’ launch concluded with a roundtable discussion on women’s participation in the labor force, led by Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister and Chairperson of the BISP. During her keynote address, Dr. Nishtar highlighted the multiple policies under the Ehsaas programme which are driving women’s fuller participation in both the economy and society. She highlighted, “Kifalat is the new digital and financial inclusion policy for poor women under the Ehsaas framework. In addition to stipends, eligible women will now get bank accounts and will have access to mobile phones.”

The Ehsaas Labour Expert Group’s recommendations report in the pipeline

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December 10, 2019, The Ehsaas Labour Expert Group (LEG) in its tenth meeting today afforded the opportunity for all stakeholders to sit together, around one table, and flesh out avenues for ensuring that every worker in Pakistan whether they work in the formal or informal economy is provided the protection and minimum standard of living, as pledged by the Constitution of Pakistan. The expert deliberations were held around the key findings of draft report furnished by the LEG for extension of social protection services to the informal labor sector in the first phase of its working. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Sania Nishtar, Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation and Chairperson of the BISP.

SDG Hackathon 2019 concludes

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Dec 8, 2019, The two-and-a-half-day SDG Hackathon 2019 event brought together over 150 participants; a mix of technologists, designers, urban planners, social scientists, NGOs and CSOs, and government representatives to develop innovative solutions aimed to address five particular UN Sustainable Development Goals using technology, data and digital tools. The Women SDG Challenge Cup 2019 was held alongside the hackathon, where women entrepreneurs pitched their startups with a mission to create civic and social impact. “It has been inspiring to hear from the SDG Hackathon participants who are leveraging technology, design thinking and open-source hacking to pave the way for achieving Sustainable Development Goals,” said Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation in her closing remarks at the concluding Award Ceremony.

Pakistan: National Survey on Violence against Healthcare Workers launched

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Dec 6, 2019, According to the study “Violence against Healthcare Workers: A Survey across 16 Cities of Pakistan” compiled by the International Committee of the Red Cross in collaboration with local research institutes and partners, more than one third of the health-care providers surveyed had experienced some form of violence in the last six months. Speaking at the launch ceremony of the study in Islamabad, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Sania Nishtar underlined the grave consequences of violence in healthcare settings and its adverse effects on the delivery of health care. “It is important that we, as healthcare practitioners and as attendants work on changing behaviours towards violence against healthcare and adopt specific multi-disciplinary strategies to protect health care.”

National Consultation on Development of National Action Plan for TFA Elimination in Pakistan

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28th Nov ,2019: Heartfile co-hosted a national consultation workshop with @WHOPakistan & Nutrition wing of MoNHSRC in Islamabad to deliberate on the draft action plan which was prepared based on the discussion & suggestions by experts and policy makers in the light of the TFA studies conducted by WHO and Heartfile disseminated in earlier events. Representatives from all province’s food authorities, technical partners, NGOs and INGOs partake in that important discussion and came to a consensus.

All Pakistan Women Chambers’ Presidents call on Sania Nishtar to seek partnership under Ehsaas

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Dec 3, 2019, Presidents of all Pakistan Women Chambers accompanied by leadership of Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry called on Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat. The meeting took stock of key challenges and opportunities for women entrepreneurs around economic activities in the country and explored options for supporting the Women Chambers under the Ehsaas that is the multisectoral antipoverty programme of the Government.