Feb 27, 2022 – Islamabad: Ehsaas has reopened the 8171 SMS service to register low-income families for Ehsaas Rashan Riayat programme. “Keeping in view the keen interest of people, we have decided to reopen the Ehsaas 8171 SMS service so that more deserving families can benefit from the Rashan Riayat programme of Ehsaas”, said Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar, SAPM. Families with monthly income less than Rs. 50,000 can enroll themselves by simply sending their CNIC to 8171. Only one member of an applicant family whose mobile number is issued on his own Computerised National Identity Card can register his family through 8171. The formal roll out of the programme in partnership with National Bank of Pakistan is just on the anvil. In this regard, all arrangements are ready. Under the programme, 30% targeted subsidy will be granted on monthly basis to 20 million eligible families on the purchase of flour, pulses, cooking oil or ghee.

Feb 24, 2022 – Peshawar: Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar, SAPM inaugurated the newly built model Panagah at Charsadda Road, Peshawar. This new Panagah is the second in Peshawar and eighth in KP. In line with Prime Minister’s vision of developing Pakistan as a welfare state, the model facility will provide one star plus bed and breakfast facility with meals, essentials, hygiene, and security standards. “So far, we have opened 39 model Panagahs nationwide. As per PM’s special instructions, Panagahs not only provide boarding and lodging to daily wage earners but also a two-time meal for them, and all this is done with utmost dignity. Each Panagah serves free meals to around 500 people and offers 100-bed facility for overnight stay”, said Dr. Sania while speaking to media. Dr. Sania also took round of the facility and interacted with the staff and daily wagers being served. Malik Zaheer Abbas Khokhar, Managing Director Pakistan Bait ul Mal gave an overview of prioritized service standards at the Panagah.

Feb 24, 2022 – Khyber Tribal District: Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar, SAPM inaugurated the Ehsaas Center in Jamrud Tehsil of Khyber Tribal District where Ehsaas payments, Ehsaas survey registration and Ehsaas School Stipends’ enrollments are being delivered under one roof. Ehsaas Centers have also been opened in Bara and Landi Kotal Tehsils of Khyber. At the center, Dr. Sania spoke to women, listened to their concerns, and assured them full cooperation. While in Khyber, Dr. Sania also made a surprise visit to an orphanage, “Dar-ul-Ehsaas” and inspected the facility that houses one hundred deserving children.

Feb 22, 2022 – Islamabad: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Huawei Pakistan signed a memorandum of understanding to close the digital divide and to reduce the gender gap by empowering women through digital technologies all across Pakistan in Punjab, KP and Sindh to begin with. Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar, SAPM was a chief guest on the occasion. The event focused on gender inclusion in ICT field and facilitating the digital empowerment of women in Pakistan by enhancing collaboration with national and international companies. The signing ceremony was also attended by Federal Secretary (IT & T) Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput, PTA Chairman Maj Gen (Retd) Amir Azeem Bajwa, CEO Jazz Aamir Ibrahim, CEO Ufone Hatem Bamatraf, CEO Telenor Pakistan Irfan Wahab Khan, Deputy CEO Huawei Pakistan Ahmed Bilal Masud, and Mr. Wu Han, along with other respective members from signing parties.

Feb 18, 2022 – Islamabad: Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar, SAPM made an unannounced visit to Islamabad Model College for Girls in Tarlai area of Islamabad. Dr. Sania met with girls enrolled under Ehsaas School Stipends and took their feedback about the programme. During the visit, she also checked the attendance records of enrollees. Later, Dr. Sania sat with teachers and college administration for policy insights. Senior officials of Ehsaas were also present on the occasion. Under the school stipends programme of Ehsaas, girls get a higher stipend amount as compared to boys from nursery to 12^th grade.

Feb 17, 2022 – Islamabad: A meeting was held between Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar, SAPM and Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder, and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This was Bill Gates’ first ever visit to Pakistan. Dr. Sania briefed him about Ehsaas and the focus on data, digitization, & transparency as key drivers of all Ehsaas programmes. During the meeting, Bill Gates termed Ehsaas “a state of the art programme”. Dr. Sania thanked him for his words of appreciation for Ehsaas and his support. Ehsaas programmes and initiatives are end-to-end digitized, reducing human discretion and exploitation. Bill Gates was also briefed on governance reforms under Ehsaas and the Building and Rebuilding Institutions Initiative (BRI). Secretary Muhammad Ali Shahzada, Secretary Ismat Tahira, Additional Secretary Captain (Rtd) Saeed Ahmed Nawaz and Additional Secretary Syed Moazzam were also present in the meeting.

Feb 17, 2022 – Islamabad: A high-level German delegation from BMZ, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Germany hailed the One Window Center of Ehsaas in Islamabad. Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar, SAPM briefed the delegation on the single window operations of multisectoral Ehsaas programme. The visit aimed to explore avenues of collaboration with Ehsaas. Mr. Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary BMZ; Mr. Helmut Fischer, Head of Division, BMZ; Mr. Bernard Schlagheck, German Ambassador to Pakistan; and Mr. Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel, Board Member of the Deutsche Gesellschaft Fuer International Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), were part of the delegation. Members of the delegation took keen interest in the real time demonstration of One Window Ehsaas operations. They felicitated Ehsaas on the commendable integration of all Ehsaas benefits under one roof.

February 15, 2022 – Islamabad: Country Director Asian Development Bank (ADB), Yong Ye visited ‘One Window Ehsaas Center’ in Sitara Market of the federal capital. Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar, SAPM welcomed him to the center. The visit explored collaborative options to expand the One Window Ehsaas operations all over the country. Yong Ye was briefed on the ‘One Stop Shop’ operations of Ehsaas which integrate all benefits for 14 different target groups in one space. He highly appreciated the integration of wide range of services for social protection, financial inclusion, education, health and nutrition, and poverty graduation education at the One Window Ehsaas Center. From Ehsaas’ side, Secretary Ismat Tahira, Additional Secretary Syed Moazzam and Director General Naveed Akbar were also present at the center.

Feb 14, 2022 – Islamabad: From Feb 1, 2022 the biannual stipend amount of Ehsaas Kafaalat has been raised from Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 13,000. The increase of Rs.1,000 was ratified by the Federal Cabinet in June last year to benefit all Ehsaas Kafaalat beneficiaries. “With the recent raise in Kafaalat stipend amount, all eligible beneficiaries of Kafaalat will now get Rs. 13,000 as a six-monthly stipend amount. No agent of partnering banks will be allowed to illegally deduct any money from payment to deserving families”, said Dr. Sania in her televised message for retail agents of Habib Bank and Bank Alfalah. Further, caveating agents to refrain from fraudulent deductions, Dr. Sania reiterated, “A stern action will be taken against agents involved in illegal deductions. They will be dealt with strictly according to the law.” She also urged beneficiaries to collect full payment of Rs. 13,000 from the agents along with the computerized payment receipt at the time of Kafaalat cash disbursement. The video message can be watched here.

Feb 10, 2022 – Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan awarded appreciation certificates to the 10 top performing federal ministries under his government. Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD) achieved third position among the 10 best ministries. The Communications and Planning Ministries got top honors of first and second respectively. From PASSD, Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar, SAPM together with Secretary of the Division, Muhammad Ali Shahzada received the award. Certificates were distributed in accordance with performance agreements signed with the federal ministries in which targets were set for them. Addressing the event, PM emphasized the importance of improved ministry performance in achieving the country’s self-sufficiency goal. Other top ministries recognised for their performance at a ceremony included Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, Ministry of Human Rights, Ministry of Industries and Production, National Security Division, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Interior, and Ministry of National Food Security and Research.

Feb 4, 2022 – Rawalpindi: This world cancer day, Ehsaas Tahafuz has announced its policy to extend support to cancer wards across Pakistan. In Pakistan, it is estimated that over 170,000 new cancer cases are reported every year. Cancer is responsible for the highest deaths in Pakistani population, and the most common cause is inability of patients and their families to bear the catastrophic health expenditures. Ehsaas Tahafuz is the government of Pakistan’s sister programme alongside Sehat Sahulat to protect the vulnerable population from catastrophic health expenditures. Tahafuz is now rapidly scaling up nationwide, after a successful pilot over the last two and a half years in Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi. Dr. Sania visited the Holy Family Hospital to meet the cancer patients being treated under Ehsaas Tahafuz. She was welcomed by Medical Superintendent, Dr. Shazia Zeb. SAPM took round of the hospital and met with cancer patients and their families. “We have taken a principal decision to include cancer packages in Ehsaas Tahafuz”, said Dr. Sania while speaking to media at the hospital.

Islamabad – Feb 2, 2022: A consultative workshop on the research strategy was held, under the umbrella of Ehsaas. Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar, SAPM chaired the workshop. A draft research strategy was presented for inputs and was finalized. The workshop discussed broad contours of a three-year research strategy for Ehsaas that will provide the framework for all research related activities aimed at improving the effectiveness of wider safety net operations. Participants included Dr. Ashfaque Hassan Khan, Dean and Principal NUST School of Social Sciences & Humanities; Knut Ostby, UNDP Resident Representative; Omer Bin Zia, Senior Project Officer, Asian Development Bank; Dr. Ali Salman, Executive Director, Policy Research Institute of Market Economy, Dr. Aliya, Economist, Quaid-e-Azam University; and Dr. Zahid Asghar, Director School of Economics, Quaid e Azam University. Senior representatives from PIDE, Lahore School of Economics, Asian Development Bank, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Social Policy and Development Center also joined the workshop. From Ehsaas, Secretary Ismat Tahira, DG Naveed Akbar, DG Noor Rehman and DG Tariq Mehmood were also present on the occasion.