Slums to be included in social protection net

CM says poverty ratio in city's kutchi abadis as high as rural areas of the province

KARACHI:

Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar has directed the Social Protection Department to develop a comprehensive strategy for the protection of poverty-stricken districts, including kutchi abadis and slum areas of Karachi.

"The poverty ratio in the kutchi abadis, slum areas, and rural areas of Karachi is as high as the rural areas of the province, therefore, Karachi must be included in the social protection programme."

He issued these directives while presiding over a meeting of the Social Protection Department to review its progress at the CM House. The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Dr. Fakhre Alam, Vice Chairman Social Protection Board Haris Gazdar, Chairman P&D Shakeel Manijo, PSCM Hassan Naqvi, Secretary Finance Kazim Jatoi, Haris Gazdar, and CEO Social Protection Samiullah Shaikh.

Haris Gazdar and Samiullah Shaikh briefed the chief minister about the department and its programme launched by the government.

The CM was informed that under the Sindh Social Protection Strategy an effective Management Information System (MIS) for the social registry has been developed.

Under the programme, two feasibility studies - Food Security - Bhook Mitao - programme and the Benazir Women Agriculture Workers programme have been conducted.

Mother and child support

Under Mother and Child Support Programme (MCSP) and Nutrition conditional cash transfer has been launched. The programme is being implemented as a pilot MCSP in two districts - Tharparkar and Umerkot to ensure maternal and child health services for the vulnerable rural women.

The pilot programme was initiated in May 2021 in four UCs and was scaled up to cover the entire districts of Tharparkar and Umerkot in May 2022.

The CM was told that MIS has been established where 62,000 pregnant women have been enrolled and Rs165 million has been disbursed.

The meeting was told that a Rs48,300 million project for the Social Protection Delivery System has been launched with the assistance of the World Bank. The health partners including PPHI and the health department have started the services.

The Strengthening Social Protection Delivery System has two components.

Under the first component, the task is to establish an appropriate institutional framework to improve formulation, functional consolidation and coordination, policy planning, delivery, and monitoring of social protection interventions while also strengthening administrative capacities.

The second component is the `Mother and Child Support Programme' (MCSP) that includes the conditional cash transfer to pregnant women and mothers of under 2-year-old children encouraging them to utilise maternal, newborn, and child healthcare (MNCH) services throughout the continuum of care for 1,000 days from conception.

It is a 60-month (January 2023 to Dec 2027) programme, predominantly rural districts of the province, prioritising those with the highest MPI scores (poorest), the CM was told.

The CM said that he would chair the board meeting of Social Protection next week to further strengthen the social protection prioritise programme.

Baqar, addressing the participants of National Security & War Course24 who called on him at CM House, said that his government was persistently fighting to curb street crime in Karachi and dacoits in the riverine area and simultaneously working hard to bring in investment in the province by facilitating the investors.

Major Gen Amir Najam, the Chief Instructor, led the delegation. The meeting was briefed by Planniong and Development Department Chairman Shakeel Mangnejo and IG Police Riffat Mukhtar on the development and crime situation respectively.

IG Riffat said that so far 63,527 street crime cases, including 20,830 mobile snatchings and 36,369 motorcycle thefts have been registered during September 2023.

To a question, the CM told the participants that police and Rangers have sped up targeted operations against street criminals and drug mafia who were also involved in street crime.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2023.