May 20, 2021 – Islamabad: With SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar in chair, a meeting was held with Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) to take stock of the National Poverty Graduation Initiative being executed under the Ehsaas umbrella. The meeting tracked progress in implementation of Ehsaas Interest Free Loan (IFL) and Ehsaas Amdan programmes. Currently, Ehsaas IFL is being implemented in 110 districts. With the recently ploughed injection of Rs. 5 Billion by the federal government, the programme is being upscaled across 28 additional districts in lagging regions (including deepening in 5 existing districts). The upscaling is grounded on the human development index ranking of districts, poverty profiling and economic needs. The meeting also discussed the progress of Ehsaas Amdan. Through Ehsaas Amdan programme, assets are given to the deserving to enable them to graduate out of poverty. Ehsaas Amdan is being implemented in 375 union councils of 23 poorest districts across four provinces of Pakistan. Secretary PASSD and CEO, PPAF were also present in the meeting. Under Ehsaas, PPAF has the responsibility for poverty graduation.
