National Social Protection moot concludes: Marri says joint efforts vital for financial uplifting of poor

ISLAMABAD: Shazia Marri, Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety (PA&SS), Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) said joint and concerted efforts of all the stakeholders including the federal government, provincial governments, and international development partners are vital for the financial uplifting of the poor and under-privileged households in Pakistan.

She stated this while speaking at the concluding session of the first-ever three days National Social Protection Conference in Murree on Wednesday.

The minister said that the BISP, through its direct cash transfer initiative – Benazir Kafaalat - is currently supporting over nine million households living below the poverty line. She, however, noted with concern that there was still a large number who were facing economic hardship and eagerly looking towards the government to support them.

Federal Minister Marri said that the BISP is proud to be the largest social safety program in the country. Over the past 15 years, the program has learned a lot and achieved a lot. She said that for this success, we are extremely grateful to our development partners that showed their interest on a continuous basis for the welfare and stability of this institution.

Chairperson BISP Marri further said that it is the responsibility of the government to help the poor people of the country. For the economic take care of larger part of deserving people, it is important that all the federal and provincial institutions should formulate such policies which can ensure support to the poor and underprivileged. We have been able to achieve good results through mutual consultation and better utilization of available resources, she continued.

She further noted that it is imperative to provide social safety to all the deserving people of the country. To achieve this goal, there is a need to create a system under which all social safety programs and initiatives can be integrated. “The outcome of this conference will provide guidelines in which direction we have to work further,” she noted and said, “Dialogue held at the Social Safety Conference should continue in the future as well.”

She suggested the establishment of a consultative forum between BISP and all stakeholders to consolidate the efforts of all federal and provincial governments and international institutions for the welfare of underprivileged segments of society.

The minister informed the participants that recently under the BISP, the start of education and health-related programmes for the people of Balochistan has been approved, which is a great news for the people of Balochistan. She said that there is a need to invest in human capital development. We need to adopt international best practices and plans to deal with social safety and economic crises caused by natural disasters. Marri expressed her gratitude to the participants of the conference, especially GIZ, for creating such an opportunity to share thoughts and experience.

Earlier, Marri taking part in the debate session, said that for the first time in Pakistan, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto gave “Roti, Kapra aur Makkaan” to every citizen, and BISP is also a continuation of the same. She urged the experts and responsible officers from the provinces that by taking advantage of this conference, to devise such a system at the provincial level that can ensure rapid assistance to the people in emergency situations.

On the third and last day of the conference, the representatives of international institutions, high-level officials and experts of the federal and provincial governments shared their views to discuss how government institutions can extend timely assistance to the affected people during crises situation caused by climate change or any other emergency.

In the first session, UNICEF's Deputy Country Director in Pakistan, Anutha Kabor, mentioned last year's disastrous floods and gave suggestions for the protection of affected people, particularly children and pregnant and lactating women, in such situations. On this occasion, Gul Najam Jami of World Bank, Ali Shehzad of PSPA, Secretary BISP Yusuf Khan and others also presented various interventions. To provide social security to people suffering from difficulties in emergency situations, the United Nations ILO’s representative Rabia Razak gave a presentation on the role of various institutions and development partners. World Food Organization's Tahir Nawaz also offered suggestions to ensure food supply in emergency situations.

Addressing the session titled, “Future of Dynamic Registry of Social Protection,” BISP Board Member Haris Ghazdar said that it is the responsibility of governments to provide assistance to the needy people in emergency situations. The World Bank representatives at the conference Philip Leyte and Muzaffar Ali, Miss Johanna of GZ, Shireen Mustafa Secretary Social Welfare Sindh, Naveed Akbar, DG National Dynamic Registry of Benazir Income Support Programme, Noor Rehman DG (CT), BISP and others also participated in various sessions of the conference.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023