March 31, 2021 – Islamabad: The Trust for Voluntary Organisations (TVO) convened its 138^th board meeting under the umbrella of Ehsaas. Before the meeting, Dr. Sania Nishtar visited TVO and spoke to board members and management. Being one of the executing agencies of Ehsaas, TVO has been revitalized under the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division to execute initiatives under Ehsaas policy action number thirty-six. This policy action is specifically meant to run partnerships with NGOs to upscale successful programmes for the most marginalised segments. A 13-member Board of Directors governs the affairs of TVO. The Board consists of three ex-officio members i.e., representatives of the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division, Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Affairs Division. Also included in the board are 10 individuals from the private sector who have distinguished themselves in any field of endeavour.

March 29, 2021 – Islamabad: SAPM Dr. Nishtar convened a virtual meeting with UNDP Pakistan to discuss options for more deeper collaborations between Ehsaas and UNDP Pakistan. From the UNDP side, Knut Ostby, Resident Representative; Aliona Niculita, Deputy Representative and Ammara Durrani, Assistant Resident Representative, Development Policy Unit came to the table. Additional Secretary Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division was also present.

March 29, 2021 – Islamabad: At the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division, a meeting was held between SAPM Dr. Sania and SAPM on Establishment Shehzad Arbab to discuss the progress of Ehsaas. Dr. Nishtar briefed Arbab about the progress of Ehsaas Delivery Unit and Ehsaas’ dashboards to evaluate performance and transparency of Ehsaas programme and it’s executing agencies.

March 28, 2021- Islamabad: To ascertain which mode of communication is most beneficial for Kafaalat beneficiaries, Ehsaas conducted a telephonic survey over the weekend. Results indicated that the most beneficial route of communication with Ehsaas Kafaalat beneficiaries is the 8171 SMS campaign. 87% of people attended the call, which was a good response rate. It was observed that in majority of cases, Ehsaas beneficiaries had access to phones in the house.

March 27, 2021 – Islamabad: Dr. Sania Nishtar launched The Human Security Institute (THSI) that is a think tank of National and International competence working for the cause of Human Security at all cadres. A wide array of stakeholders and practitioners, academicians, civil-military, bureaucrats, members of business community and civil society, federal ministers, and diplomats from friendly countries participated in the ceremony. Dr. Nishtar was invited as a special guest and chair of the panel discussion on ‘Importance of Human Security in 21st Century’.

March 25, 2021: At the high-level panel discussion convened by International Policy Center for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG), ODI and GIZ, SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar presented a complementary policymaking viewpoint from Pakistan, based on her work overseeing large-scale social protection programme delivery during and prior to Covid-19 as the Special Assistant of the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection. The panel brought together leading international experts to discuss the findings emerging from the ODI-GiZ study and wider evidence to share policy learning on adaptive social protection to date. Along with SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar, panelists included Francesca Bastagli, Director Equity and Social Policy, and Principal Research Fellow, ODI; Bessie Msusa, Chief Economist in the Poverty Reduction and Social Protection Division at the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Malawi; Lynette Maart, National Director, Black Sash, South Africa; Ugo Gentilini, Global Lead Social Assistance, World Bank; and Armando Barrientos, Professor of Poverty and Social Justice at the Global Development Institute, Manchester University.

Islamabad – March 24, 2021: Dr. Sania Nishtar chaired a stocktake meeting for the Ehsaas Governance Observatory. The Governance Observatory was established in June 2020 to monitor adherence to the Ehsaas Governance and Integrity Policy, which was Cabinet approved in November 2019. Governance Observatory aims to review and improve governance systems and practices of all four executing agencies which are instrumental in implementing Ehsaas programs and initiatives. The purpose is to build systems that strongly discourage corruption, and to promote efficiency, transparency and accountability for results and compliance with rules. All four executing agencies of Ehsaas including BISP, PPAF, Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal and TVO came to the table together with Secretary Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD), Additional Secretary PASSD, and officials from Ehsaas Delivery Unit. Speaking to the press, Dr. Nishtar said, “Today, a new metric was also included in the framework of the Governance Observatory. We took a decision that no Ehsaas implementing agency will be allowed to get a post-facto approval on its budget.”

March 24, 2021-Islamabad: Dr. Sania Nishtar along with senior Ehsaas officials joined a consultative meeting on the ‘Re-launching of Direct Cash’ with Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan, London School of Economics and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The meeting discussed modalities for lump sum transfers, data on continuing and new eligible beneficiaries of various districts who are eligible for the graduation offer and relevant policy details.

March 22, 2021- Islamabad: Dr. Sania Nishtar was invited to speak on “Human and Food Security, Population Bulge & Poverty Alleviation in Pakistan”, at the National Security Workshop organized by Institute for Strategic Studies Research & Analysis (ISSRA), National Defence University (NDU). The workshop aimed to discuss and comprehend the dynamics of National Security of Pakistan. Participants of National Security Workshop included parliamentarians, senior civil and military officials, and prominent members from civil society.

Mar 22, 2021 – Islamabad: SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar made a visit to G-11 Markaz in Islamabad to interact with street vendors. The visit aimed to review street hawkers’ economy first hand and to realize the positive role and potential of street vendors in supporting poverty alleviation efforts. During the visit, street vendors informed Dr. Nishtar about various operational issues being faced by them in the market. Syeda Shafaq Hashmi, Administrator Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad and Zia Banday, Focal Person Street Vendors’ Initiative were also present on the occasion. To improve the operating environment for street vendors through multi-stakeholder engagement, Ehsaas is collaborating with Islamabad Municipality, CDA and Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE).

March 21, 2021- Kharmang: Chief Minister Gilgit Baltistan Khalid Khursheed opened Ehsaas Nashonuma Centre in Kharmang district of Gilgit Baltistan. In the first phase of Ehsaas Nashonuma programme, 48 Nashonuma Centres are being opened in 13 districts of the country at the district and tehsil level health facilities. Ehsaas Nashonuma is a three-year programme that is fully funded by the federal government of Pakistan. The programme is pegged on improving nutrition and health in the first thousand days of life, that is the most critical period in early childhood development, starting at conception and finishing at age of two. Every quarter, conditional cash-transfers are being provided to the poorest pregnant and lactating mothers and children under two years; Rs. 1,500 for a boy child and mother, and Rs. 2,000 for a girl child.

Mar 20, 2021 -Brazil: A new report released by the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) found that Pakistan’s innovative emergency cash programme helped avert an economic catastrophe during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report titled, “What’s next for social protection in light of COVID-19: country responses” focuses on experiences from countries in Asia, including Pakistan, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Latin America and the Caribbean. The deep dive into social protection responses to the COVID-19 crisis highlights Pakistan’s efforts to tackle poverty amidst the biggest global crisis in more than a century and provides overall lessons for the future including shock-responsive and universal social protection. The report analyses how the COVID-19 pandemic was a watershed period for Pakistan in terms of government functioning: making it more agile, data-driven, experimental, and ambitious. The full report is available for download here.