Poverty alleviation : ADB pledges another $200 million for BISP

Bank’s mission is visiting Pakistan to identify more areas to support programme.

ISLAMABAD:

The Asian Development Bank announced to financially support the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), pledging another $200 million. Previously, the bank had provided $150 million to support the programme.

The ADB’s assistance of $200 million under the social development protection development project will span over five years.

The ADB also expressed satisfaction over the running of the programme and on the pace of inclusion of the beneficiary families, according to a press statement.

Head of the ADB mission, Michiel Van der Awera informed the BISP Chairperson Farzana Raja, in a meeting on Friday, that the mission will also hold meeting with BISP’s stakeholders including the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), State Life Insurance Corporation, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, National Vocational and Technical Training Commission.

During the meeting, BISP Chairperson Raja said that poverty surveys had been completed in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), where 200,000 beneficiary families had been identified.

She went on to say further that the minorities had been provided an equal opportunity for the very first time in Pakistan’s history through the programme.



The state-of-the-art Benazir Debit Card had further strengthened the transparency of the programme. The Benazir Card was launched in February 2012.

The ADB mission was on a two-week visit to Pakistan to identify various areas to provide further support to BISP including registration of the remaining 2.5 million eligible beneficiaries and to strengthen BISP’s graduation programmes including vocational training, health insurance, additional cash transfer etcetera.

In January, Pakistan Peoples Party Bhalwal Tehsil Vice President Syed Tassawur Hussain Shah announced that some 115,000 women will be given vocational and technical training under the BISP in only the Sargodha district in 2013.



Earlier, Raja informed the mission about various strategies adopted by BISP and said, “We are committed to abide by our promise to the people of Pakistan. I am satisfied at the end of our five-year tenure.”

BISP was initiated in October 2008 with an initial allocation of Rs34 billion for the financial year 2008-09. The allocation for the financial year 2012-13 was Rs70 billion to provide cash assistance to 5.5 million families, which constituted almost 18% of the population. Thus, the programme aimed at covering almost 40% of the population below the poverty line.

The programme declares those eligible for Rs1,000 monthly income support who score less than 17, out of a total 100 points, in the Poverty Targeting Survey Programme (PTSP).

The PPP in their manifesto for elections 2013, released on March 15, raised BISP’s monthly cash grant to Rs2,000.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2013.

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