Ehsaas is a social program in Pakistan that provides financial assistance to underprivileged families. The program is targeted at alleviating poverty, improving livelihoods, and eradicating diseases like polio. It also targets financial inclusion and maternal, neonatal, and child health.
Programme provides financial assistance to underprivileged families
The Pakistan Food Assistance Programme provides one-time financial assistance to 12 million families in Pakistan. The programme is the largest social protection intervention in Pakistan’s history. Each eligible family is provided with $75 to help them meet their subsistence nutrition needs for four months. The programme was launched two weeks ago, and has already reached 7 million people.
In response to rising poverty rates, the Pakistan government launched efforts to combat the epidemic by providing financial assistance to the poor. It has allocated $900 million to provide emergency cash to poor families. The federal government is also implementing a new poverty-alleviation programme, called Ehsaas, which is administered by all federated units.
The Government of Pakistan has begun delivering one-off cash payments to the poorest families. Approximately 80 million people in Pakistan are affected by poverty, making this programme a critical part of the government’s social protection response. It has found that unconditional cash transfers are an effective way to deliver humanitarian assistance. The first reports indicate that the cash has provided some sense of security to vulnerable families. Pakistan has a population of over 210 million people, and nearly one-third of these live on piece-rate or daily wages. It is therefore vital that the COVID-19 response protects those living in the most extreme poverty.
BISP also aims to improve the lives of women in the poorest households by providing them with monthly cash grants for household necessities, such as clothing and food. The program also provides mothers with additional funds to send their children to school. In 2017, the programme provided financial assistance to 235,000 families in Pakistan, and this figure is expected to increase to 441,000 by 2020. The BISP scheme seeks to eliminate inequality and poverty and empower women. Lack of education is one of the main causes of poverty and instability in Pakistan and the UK is helping to change that by supporting the BISP program.
Pakistan’s social protection system is still fragmented, with limited coverage and targeting efficiency. This is why the country needs a revamp of social protection mechanisms to address the challenges it faces. The existing social safety net programs are not targeted to the poorest 40% of the population. They also lack the necessary capacity to respond to shocks.
It addresses polio eradication, financial inclusion, immunization and maternal, neo-natal and child health
The ehsaas program in the country addresses maternal, neo-natal, and child health. Pakistani public attitudes towards immunisation have changed in recent years. While the majority of Punjabis now support the immunisation campaign, there is still some reticence on religious grounds. These findings contrast with those of studies conducted in Peshawar and Quetta, where false religious beliefs, fears of vaccine-induced infertility, and security issues were identified as major barriers to acceptance.
Pakistan’s polio eradication program has been hindered by conflict and militancy. The government has worked with international organisations and the private sector to ensure that the disease is eradicated. The global community has also supported this initiative, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Pakistan has been an important country for the Gates Foundation, with numerous programs covering shared development priorities such as polio eradication, maternal, neonatal, and child health. In addition to tackling polio, the foundation has worked on implementing routine immunization and increasing financial inclusion.
While the NEAP identifies a weak RI as a major obstacle to polio eradication, it is not clear why the low number of zero-dose children is a hindrance. EPI participants viewed the zero-dose data as an attempt to justify the program’s failure.
Despite the challenges faced by the country’s polio eradication program, Pakistan has made great progress in reducing the disease. Between 1994 and 2005, the number of cases declined by 90%. However, from 2006, cases of poliomyelitis began to rise again. In addition, the Taliban insurgency in FATA and KP has driven millions of people from rural areas into urban areas.
In the late 1990s, a national AFP surveillance program was launched. In 1998, a WHO-accredited national poliovirus laboratory was established at the National Institutes of Health in Islamabad. The laboratory provides genetic data on the circulating poliovirus lineages.
As global health initiatives become increasingly intertwined with foreign policy and security concerns, countries have begun to integrate public health programs with these initiatives. Saudi Arabia has extensive experience in implementing public health measures based on formal religious authority. This experience may prove useful in Pakistan’s efforts to combat vaccine hesitancy.
It aims to improve livelihoods
The Ehsaas program is a national social development program in Pakistan that aims to improve the lives of the poor and unemployed. Its objective is to provide job opportunities and assets to people from poor households. As of now, the program supports 1.4 million people in achieving their goals. These assets are provided to deserving beneficiaries through vocational training and Interest Free Loans.
The current government is committed to alleviating poverty in Pakistan and has made various social safety net programmes available to low-income families for the past three years. These programmes aim to tackle systemic poverty and ensure long-term solutions. In addition, they aim to create a sustainable economic future in Pakistan.
Pakistan is among the worst countries in the world in terms of child stunting. Stunting prevents a child from growing properly and developing cognitive abilities. In addition, under-nutrition in childhood leads to increased risk of many costly diseases later in life. These diseases not only impoverish individuals, but also negatively impact the economy.
In the face of this challenge, the Ehsaas program was launched to address the challenges faced by the poor. The initiative was designed to address the needs of the extreme poor, including those who are jobless or undernourished. Its four-pillared strategy focuses on human capital development and jobs.
The Ehsaas program provides livelihood support to the poor by promoting the creation of skills and assets. These investments can lead to increased earnings and sustainable livelihood opportunities for poor households. By providing training and assets, the Ehsaas program helps improve the livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable in Pakistan.
It addresses elite capture
The Ehsaas program in Pakistan aims to address elite capture and other issues in the country. The four pillars of the strategy address poverty, human capital development, social safety nets, and jobs and livelihoods. However, the program falls short of understanding the root causes of poverty and inequality in Pakistan.
In Pakistan, the problem of elite capture is exacerbated by the nexus between state revenue and political power. Both are related to a rentier economy, which depends on substantial external rents to fund state revenues. Pakistan’s example, though, adds to the definition of a rentier economy.
The Ehsaas program is an attempt to address elite capture by making government resources more available to the poor. However, the current Ehsaas program is a patchwork rather than a comprehensive solution. The programme also fails to address the needs of laborers, who need better bargaining power and human capital. Moreover, multinational companies often employ labor in countries with weak labor laws and regulations. Furthermore, these companies often pay their workers minimum wages. In such an environment, the Ehsaas program should be more targeted and include the needs of laborers and their rights to unionize.
The Ehsaas program in Pakistan aims to build a welfare state, a social safety net, and the best way to combat poverty is to address elite capture. The government can do this by making specific policies to combat inequality and poverty. However, the financialization of the economy has led to distorted capital-labor relations. One way to address this is to separate commercial banking from investment banking.
Imran Khan’s Ehsaas program includes multiple policy actions, including a second chance program for girls in schools, need-based undergraduate scholarships, and education vouchers. In addition, the Ehsaas program promotes financial inclusion and the economic empowerment of women. In other words, it is the largest programme that the poor have ever had.
The Ehsaas program in Pakistan addresses the challenges of elite capture and corruption by creating a transparent and targeted support system. It has also helped the government scale its impact and increase the trust of both beneficiaries and programme administrators.
