August 13, 2021 – Islamabad: Dr. Sania Nishtar was invited as a Chief Guest in the second virtual session of the Pakistan Inequality Debates, entitled “Policy as a Driver of Inequality: Centering People for Inclusive Policy”. The debate was based on UNDP Pakistan’s National Human Development Report 2020: The Ps of Inequality: People, Policy and Power. The session was held as part of a series of national and provincial webinars, “The Pakistani Inequality Debates” that feature eminent thought leaders and policy makers. Speakers who joined the session together with Dr. Sania were—Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Former Governor SBP; Knut Ostby, Resident Representative, UNDP Pakistan; Dr. Hafeez Pasha, Lead Author NHDR 2020; and Dr. Abid Suleri, Executive Director SDPI. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Sania stated, “This fiscal year is very important for us, as the new Ehsaas survey is being completed, based on which a number of programs will be scaled up nationwide for 14 target groups. In addition to the survey, we have completed Phase-1 of ‘Ehsaas BRI’, the building and rebuilding institutions initiative, we have put in place new programs—and we have done all this in tandem with the roll out of COVID-19 Ehsaas emergency cash, through which we reached out to nearly 40% of the country’s households.”
