News Page 9

Nov 30, 2019, Graduation ceremony of the 47th batch of PAF Finishing School was held at the Officers’ Mess, PAF Complex here on Friday. Dr. Sania Nishtar, special assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety was the chief guest at the occasion. The chief guest awarded certificates to the graduating students. Dr. Nishtar congratulated the students on successful completion of their personality development programme at this unique institution of the country. She also praised the standard of training at this premier institution and lauded the efforts of the faculty members in grooming the womenfolk of our society.

Nov 29, 2019,  HRH Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan met with Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation in Islamabad to discuss current projects aimed at fighting malnutrition in Pakistan. HRH Princess Sarah is a Special Advisor to the World Food Programme (WFP) on Mother and Child Nutrition, campaigns globally to bring attention to the criticality of good nutrition in the first 1,000 days from conception to a child’s second birthday. Tackling malnutrition is also a core focus of Ehsaas, the government’s pioneering poverty alleviation programme. The meeting was part of a high-level mission by Princess Sarah to Pakistan hosted by the World Food Programme. Addressing the meeting, HRH Princess Sarah lauded the Government of Pakistan’s commitment to address malnutrition across Pakistan. She reiterated that malnutrition has long lasting consequences for families and countries.

Nov 26, 2019, Millions of people in Pakistan will finally have access to financial services, thanks to the Ehsaas Financial Inclusion Initiatives launched today by the Prime Minister Imran Khan. Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands attended the launch in her capacity as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA). Her Majesty Queen Maxima spoke passionately about the need to promote financial inclusion as a tool to empower women and achieve social goals. At the launch, Prime Minister praised the new Ehsaas financial inclusion initiatives and noted the significant impact these will have on the ability of the poorest to escape poverty. Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation presented an overview of Ehsaas Financial Inclusion Initiatives. The Ehsaas Financial Inclusion is a multi-component initiative. It includes the Prime Minister’s “one woman one bank account policy”; bank accounts for informal workers under Mazdoor ka Ehsaas; promotion of access to credit for the bottom of the pyramid. Details of Ehsaas Financial Inclusion Initiatives can be accessed here.

Nov 26, 2019,  Earlier today, Ehsaas held a bilateral meeting with a delegation led by Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. The conversation aimed to reinforce collaboration on Financial inclusion in Pakistan under Ehsaas programme. The meeting was hosted by Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation who leads Ehsaas programme. During the meeting Secretary Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division and Secretary BISP were also present. Queen Máxima is visiting Pakistan in her capacity as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA).

Nov 25, 2019, Prime Minister Imran Khan will tomorrow launch the Ehsaas, ‘Financial Inclusion Initiatives’ in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. Queen Máxima is visiting Pakistan in her capacity as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA). “We look forward to welcoming Queen Maxima to Pakistan who has worked for ten years as the UNSGSA to give people safe and affordable access to the financial services they need to protect themselves against hardship and invest in their futures.  With access to a broad range of financial tools – savings, credit, insurance, payments and more, families can move out of poverty, small businesses can expand, farmers can thrive, and societies and economies can grow stronger and more inclusive. The Ehsaas’ financial inclusion initiatives drive access to financial services for the poorest and most marginalized,” said Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation.

November 21, 2019,  KP Cabinet in its 25th meeting was briefed on the Ehsaas programme. Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation was in the provincial capital for the briefing. Chief Minister KP, Mahmood Khan chaired the meeting. The aim of the meeting was to inform the KP Cabinet about the Ehsaas framework and begin to identify areas for coordination and collaboration. Dr. Nishtar outlined details of Ehsaas programme and particularly stressed on areas which are relevant to federal – provincial partnerships. Members of the Cabinet took keen interest in the ‘Ehsaas Governance and Integrity Policy’. This was the fourth provincial briefing that Dr. Nishtar has led on Ehsaas, following briefings in Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab.

November 20, 2019, The Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety Division (PASSD) has announced it will partner with Facebook and Invest2Innovate to host a first-of-its-kind ‘Design Hackathon’ on malnutrition at the National Incubation Centre, Islamabad on 14^th – 15^th December.  “Ehsaas is bringing together the brightest talent in digital marketing and technology to tackle malnutrition across the country and improve millions of lives”, said Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation. “Social media is an important channel through which educate and inform the public, and we are excited to see the results of this pioneering Design Hackathon.” Interested digital agencies, health startups, NGOs and individuals with applicable skills who are committed to social justice and poverty alleviation in Pakistan are encouraged to apply. To apply, please click here.

Nov 18, 2019, The Board of Directors of Trust for Voluntary Organizations (TVO) has been constituted after six years and held its first meeting today. The TVO was created as an indigenous grantmaking organization in 1990 following an agreement between the Governments of Pakistan and the USA to establish a Special Development Fund, TVO was set up to tap the potential of NGOs. However, for the last six years, its Board had not been constituted, as a result of which, its operations were stalled. Earlier this year, the process of recruiting the Board was initialized in a transparent manner. TVO has been revitalized under Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division because it is envisaged to be one of the executing agencies which will execute the programmes under Ehsaas policy action number thirty-six that aims to serve the marginalized. Today, Dr. Sania Nishtar addressed the TVO Board to communicate to them, the Ehsaas Governance and Integrity Policy of the Government.

Nov 15, 2019, Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD) today began the implementation of the Ehsaas Governance and Integrity Policy, which was formally approved by the Cabinet and launched earlier this week. The purpose of the policy is to build systems that strongly discourage corruption, and to promote efficiency, transparency and accountability for results and compliance with the rules. Dr. Sania Nishtar convened a meeting attended by the Principal Accounting Officers and ancillary organizations of the PASSD namely BISP, Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, and Trust for Voluntary Organizations. The meeting discussed a roadmap for implementation of the new policy and addressed questions around making it as robust as possible.

Nov 15, 2019, Eminent intergovernmental agencies and international organizations have joined forces to support the roll-out of the Ehsaas poverty alleviation programme. The Ehsaas Development Partnership Group brought together 45 country heads and representatives from 25 development partners, UN agencies and international organizations working across Pakistan. Meeting today for the first time in Islamabad, the group discussed the terms of reference of their newly established group, the main objective of which is to provide integrated, coherent and aligned technical support and strategic advice to Government of Pakistan for the implementation of Ehsaas strategy. “Ehsaas aims to lift millions of people in Pakistan out of poverty, creating a welfare state in our country for the first time”, said Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation, who chaired the first meeting of the group.

Nov 14, 2019, Texas, USA – Pakistan will thrive as more women participate in the economy. That was the message behind a keynote speech delivered by Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation at the U.S.-Pakistan Women in the Economy Symposium today. Hosted by the George H. W. Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University in coordination with the US-Pakistan Women’s Council, the roundtable was focused on ambitious ideas to propel women in the economy forward. Dr. Nishtar joined the meeting, which took place in College Station, Texas, via video-link. During her speech she highlighted the multiple policies under the Ehsaas programme which are driving women’s fuller participation in both the economy and society.

Nov 12, 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation and Chairperson BISP was the keynote speaker at the roundtable on innovative financing for social impact. The roundtable was jointly organized by Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP) and Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit in Islamabad. The event was attended by members of the Ehsaas programme committee who are developing innovative financing mechanisms through bilateral and multilateral collaboration with the corporate sector, philanthropists, INGOs, and UN agencies. Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Nishtar stated: “It is imperative that Pakistan begin to adopt innovative financing models for the Ehsaas programme, so that it can maximize social impact and fulfill its mission to lift millions of people out of poverty. With a more strategic, collaborative and outcome focused approach to philanthropy and social investing, we can ensure that resources are deployed as effectively as possible to address key social challenges.”

Nov 12, 2019, The Cabinet today approved the proposal of “Ehsaas Governance and Integrity Observatory” and “Ehsaas Governance and Integrity Policy”. Speaking to the press, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation said, “The policy is binding on the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD) and its ancillary organizations, namely, the Benazir Income Support Programme, Bait-ul-Mal, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, and Trust for Voluntary Organizations and the observatory is meant to ensure tracking of compliance, and, since the key issue with policies is their implementation, that is why, the observatory and the policy have been launched together”. The purpose of the policy is to build systems that strongly discourage corruption, and to promote efficiency, transparency and accountability for results and compliance with rules. These measures are meant to make organizations involved in delivery of welfare, effective and responsive to the needs of those who they are meant to serve, and to ensure rule-based control on the use of public resources.

Nov 8, 2019, The Pakistan National Nutrition Coordination Council (PNNCC) held its maiden meeting in Islamabad today. The creation of the council has been hailed internationally, since the Prime Minister chairs the council with six ministers as its members reflecting both a multisectoral construct as well as high political commitment to address malnutrition. The first meeting was convened by the Vice Chair of the council, Dr. Sania Nishtar and was attended by Dr. Zafar Mirza, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Systems, Regulations and Coordination and other members of the council. The discussion during the first meeting brought the light to myriad nutrition stakeholders working in a fragmented manner with no coordination and significant overlap and duplication. The council has been created to overcome that in coherence. The members of the council decided that mapping of nutrition stakeholders in digital observatory style documentation should be developed as a starting point.

November 4, 2019, Prime Minister Imran Khan has today launched the Ehsaas Scholarships Programme for undergraduate students from low-income backgrounds. Ehsaas has 134 policies, programmes and initiatives and this scheme, which is primarily aimed at enhancing access to higher education is key to building a new Pakistan that works for everyone. The Rs.20 billion need-based scheme is a key initiative of BISP and Higher Education Commission (HEC) under which 50,000 scholarships per year will be awarded to undergraduate students (50 percent girls) from underprivileged families and areas over the next four years. Past scholarship schemes focused on post-graduate degree programmes. However, the new Ehsaas initiative represents a major educational policy change with the focus on undergraduate degrees because they contribute the most to furthering income generation potential.  Speaking at the event, the Prime Minister said, “This initiative will drive the country’s talented youth from disadvantaged backgrounds to achieve academic excellence. People have no idea what a big change this programme will bring. Due to unemployment, the talented and intelligent youth of the country were developing intolerance and a tendency towards negative practices; however, this scholarship programme will help deserving students divert their energies towards positivity”. Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation and Chairperson BISP also spoke at the event. “Undergraduate Scholarships Programme is one of the best opportunities for students who cannot bear their academic expenses. It is an important element of the Ehsaas framework that aims to foster human capital development and shared prosperity through investing in education of the most deserving and needy, particularly girls”.

Nov 1, 2019,  David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group during his visit to Pakistan visited headquarters of BISP. David Malpass was leading a delegation consisting of two regional vice presidents and other high-ranking officials from the Bank. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Chairperson BISP Dr. Sania Nishtar together with Dr. Zafar Mirza, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination welcomed the World Bank’s President and his delegation and briefed them on the importance attached by the government to the uplift of the marginalized segments of the society and the positive contribution Ehsaas is making to address poverty and inequality in Pakistan. Dr. Nishtar informed the delegation on government’s multi-sectoral Ehsaas Program and stated that despite limited fiscal space, social protection has been placed high on the government’s agenda and significantly increased resources have been allocated for social protection. Dr. Nishtar also informed Malpass about on new payment model of Kifalat program, which will promote financial inclusion of women through one woman one bank account. During the briefing, Malpass was also apprised of the governance reforms undertaken at BISP to bring transparency and efficiency in operations. Dr. Nishtar also described the mother and child health and nutrition initiative of BISP, recently approved by the BISP Board. David Malpass also had an interactive session with the BISP beneficiaries who, as a part of BISP’s collaboration efforts with the private sector, had improved their livelihood potential and had started their small businesses. He heard the stories of the beneficiaries and asked them questions about the use they made of the cash transfers from the government and the ways in which they embarked on the journey of self-reliance.

October 30, 2019, Today the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) held its 3rd International Conference on Research and Learning, entitled ‘Beyond Action, Towards Transformation’. The conference focused on developing further dimensions in knowledge and assessed how PPAF’s interventions poor have transformed the lives and communities of the poor. Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, Dr. Sania Nishtar was a keynote speaker at the inaugural session of the conference. Addressing the audience on the occasion, she said, “I would like to congratulate PPAF on putting together the 3rd International Conference on Research and Learning which will help us navigate the impact of the Graduation Programme on a national scale. Through the Poverty Graduation Programme we aim to make the beneficiaries independent and self-reliant by providing the vulnerable segments of society with livelihoods and social protection. The government is committed to creating greater social and economic equality. Under the ambit of Ehsaas we envision to empower millions across Pakistan by laying greater emphasis on asset transfer.” Other notable speakers at the conference included Hubert Boirard, Country Programme Manager for Pakistan at the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Dr Imran Rasul, Professor of Economics at University College London, Mr. Ijaz Nabi, Mr. Rehan Rafay Jamil, Ms. Ruven Menikdiwela, Country Representative for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Pakistan and many others.

Oct 26, 2019,  Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation has termed the Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship Scheme as highly transformational, as it is the largest ever need-based scholarship programme to promote human capital investment. The formal launch of the Scheme by the Prime Minister is planned for next week. She was telephonically addressing the 26th Vice Chancellors Committee Meeting convened by Dr. Muhammad Ali, Chair of the VCs Committee to brief them about the Government’s upcoming Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship Scheme. The heads of public universities across the country attended the meeting, majority of them joined through video link from their campuses. She said that the Prime Minister Imran Khan is keen that this Scheme should benefit maximum number of students across the country, and that the Government will allocate more resources for it in the coming years.  Dr. Tariq Banuri, Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) gave a detailed briefing to the Vice Chancellors on the newly conceptualized scholarship scheme, entitled Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship Scheme.

Oct 25, 2019, The project steering committee met today to finalize policy guidelines for the final launch of Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship Scheme planned for next week. The meeting was co-chaired by Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation and Dr. Tariq Banuri, Chairman, HEC. Secretary Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division, Additional Secretary Finance, Executive Director HEC, DG – HEC and Convener VCs Committee also came to the table. The Scheme will award Ehsaas scholarships to low-income students enrolled in four and five-year undergraduate programmes. All students from low-income families studying in undergraduate programs in public sector universities are eligible to apply. Selection will be based on need-cum-merit, i.e., on the basis of the student’s GPA and family income (below a maximum threshold). The scholarship covers tuition fee and a living stipend. Fifty per cent of the scholarships will be awarded to female students, while students with special needs as well as those from remote and disadvantaged areas will also be encouraged to apply.

Oct 24, 2019, Eight federal ministries and 4 provincial ministries were at the table when the multisectoral Ehsaas Value Chain Building Committee met for the first time at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat. Poverty in rural areas is deeply linked to agriculture and Pakistan is being faced with unique agriculture challenges particularly small landholdings, subsistence farming, exploitation by extractive Aarhtis (middlemen) and stress selling. Unless private sector investment is made in building rural value chains, it will be difficult to break away from the rural poverty cycle. Ehsaas’ multisectoral Ehsaas Value Chain Building Committee’s diverse perspectives will help to shape a value chain building policy to address these challenges. The Ehsaas Value Chain Building Committee was convened by Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation.

Oct 22, 2019, The Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition, which is funded by the UK Department for International Development, invited Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation to join the Global Panel’s High Level Stakeholder Group (HLSG) meeting in Windsor, UK. Dr. Nishtar attended the meeting through video conferencing. The main objective of the meeting was to seek the critique of members on the Global Panel’s second foresight report on positioning food systems to deliver healthy and sustainable diets. Virtually addressing the meeting as a panel member, Dr. Nishtar elaborated the multisectoral approach of the government of Pakistan under the Ehsaas framework to address nutrition. “Tackling malnutrition is embedded in the strategy of Ehsaas,” she stated.

October 21, 2019,  Dr. Sania Nishtar was invited to the meeting of the standing committee on Industries and Production. The standing committee was discussing performance issues of Utility Stores Corporation (USC) along with ways of reforming this organization. Several options came into discussion including tax exemptions, subsidies and low mark up on bank loans. One of the options discussed was routing BISP cash stipends to women beneficiaries through Utility Stores Corporation. The members of the standing committee strongly emphasized on the latter. They said that if BISP routes its cash transfers to women through USC and give rations instead of cash, then USC will become viable. Chairperson BISP, Dr. Nishtar explained that the government had taken the decision to transform the existing cash out operations of BISP into the Ehsaas Kifalat programme through which women will have access to bank accounts and mobile phones under the ‘one woman one bank account initiative’. ‘It was not possible to change the policy course, and in any case, it does not make any logical sense to make change in policy course in order to salvage another organization which should focus on overcoming its performance constraints’, she elaborated.

Oct 18, 2019, Under overarching Ehsaas framework, two of the executing agencies of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD)- Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM) and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), signed an MoU in Islamabad to capitalize on impactful synergies. This partnership based on collaboration and leveraging is primarily aimed at women’s economic empowerment and their uplifting in society. As part of the MoU- 25,000 women trained by Women Empowerment Centres (WECs) of PBM will be provided with interest free loans by PPAF, enabling them to become economically sustainable.  Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation and Shaista Sohail, Secretary Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division witnessed the signing ceremony as Aon Abbas Bappi, Managing Director, PBM and Qazi Azmat Isa, CEO, PPAF inked the MoU. Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Nishtar termed the new collaboration within Ehsaas, as a great initiative and hoped that it will benefit deserving women to graduate out of poverty.

Oct 16, 2019, Kings College, London has conferred the prestigious Doctorate of Science Honoris Causa on Dr. Sania Nishtar on October 16, in London. Dr. Sania Nishtar is a Kings alumna, and already has a Ph.D from Kings College.

This honour was conferred upon her for her work and contribution in global health and development.  She is the only Pakistani woman with both a Ph.D and a D.Sc.  According to the Rt. Hon the Lord Geidt, Chairman of Kings College, London “honorary degrees are conferred by Kings on persons of conspicuous merit and the highest distinction. Honorary Graduands have no formal duties as such, but may of course contribute to the life of the University by sharing experiences and expertise or engaging socially” Dr. Nishtar received her degree in person in London. Talking to the press she said “she is deeply humbled”.

Oct 12, 2019,  To acknowledge the contributions of women in various fields, Dawood Global Foundation held an award ceremony, 11th Annual Ladies Fund Women’s Awards for Pakistan 2019, at the Governor House in Karachi. Honorable Governor Sindh, Imran Ismail was the chief guest at the event. He presented lifetime achievement award to Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation. Dr. Nishtar also chairs the Benazir Income Support Program and the United Nations International Institute for Global Health’s Advisory Committee.  Hundreds of the inspiring women attended the ceremony where people had gathered to celebrate the strength and empowerment of women and acknowledge their achievements of various categories.

Oct 12, 2019,  Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation who was on a one -day visit to Karachi called on honourable Governor Sindh, Imran Ismail at Governor House in Karachi. Both agreed to explore collaboration around what Ehsaas can offer to Sindh and how can it partner with federal government and private sectors. The Governor termed Ehsaas as a key step of the Prime Minister of Pakistan to eliminate poverty.

Oct 10, 2019,  Under the framework of Ehsaas, the Board of BISP approved the increase in the stipend amount for girls from Rs. 750 to Rs. 1,000 and the provision of emergency relief to the residents of villages along the Line of Control. The Board also approved the plan to extend the Conditional Cash Transfer programme for education to another 50 districts around the country to bring out of school children within the education system. The Board meeting was held here which was attended by Secretary BISP, Zafar Khan, Atif Bajwa, Khawar Mumtaz, Ashfaq Hassan Khan, Qazi Azmat Isa and representatives of various government departments. Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation and Chairperson BISP Dr. Sania Nishtar briefed the Board on the governance and transparency improvement measures introduced in the Programme. She termed the signing of the banking contracts as a step towards transparent payment mechanism and evidence that the present government continues to bring about significant governance improvements for creating a welfare state modeled on Riasat-e-Madina. In order to address stunting and malnutrition, already emphasized in Ehsaas, a pilot project to provide specialized nutritious food packets to poor mothers and their children was also approved. The project will be launched in one district of each province along with GB, AJK and merged districts of KP.

Oct 10, 2019, BISP has signed a historic memorandum of understanding with Habib Bank Limited and Bank Alfalah Limited on a strategic partnership that will enable financial inclusion of millions of women as envisioned in Ehsaas programme under the one-woman-one-bank-account initiative. Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection and Chairperson BISP, Dr. Sania Nishtar said that a series of policy initiatives and measures are being taken to turn BISP into a model of good governance. She said that the new biometric based payment solution developed by BISP through an open and consultative process was a great step to ensure good governance, transparency and efficiency in the payment mechanism for beneficiaries. Hiring of the new financial institutions through a transparent and open competitive bidding process was a significant development for improved service delivery and fraud prevention, she added. A competitive procurement process completed in eight months was carried out in most transparent manner with representation from all relevant ministries and organizations.

Oct 9, 2019,  Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation paid a surprise visit to Peshawar More, Islamabad to meet with daily wage labourers. She sat with the labourers and listened to their problems. Labourers informed Dr. Nishtar that those from low income backgrounds who apply for Government of Pakistan class-4 jobs over and over again have to pay PKR 500 with each application which is a massive cost for them. Speaking to the labourers, Dr. Nishtar said that most useful lessons for policy come through engagement on ground and she will relay their voice in the cabinet to address their concern.

Oct 9, 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation chaired the regular Ehsaas Communications Committee meeting held at the PM Secretariat on Oct 9, 2019. During the meeting, the communications plan for the upcoming Ehsaas undergraduate scholarships scheme and the World Poverty Day was set up in a consultative manner. In addition, the committee focused on exploring ways to communicate more effectively to target those who could benefit from the government’s Ehsaas’ interventions, precisely those that are marginalized and the hardest to reach out. Secretary PASSD, Principal Information Officer, PIDPASSD and communications and media representatives from various stakeholders including MoIB, PID, Associated Press of Pakistan, Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, PEMRA, PTV News, ATV, Provincial Social Welfare Department – Punjab, BISP, Pakistan Bait ul Mal and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund joined the meeting. Ehsaas Communications Committee is due to meet every Wednesday under the leadership of Dr. Nishtar.

Oct 8, 2019, The steering committee carrying out the forthcoming Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarships scheme met for the second time in this month to set up modalities of the combined working. In the month of October 2019, the ‘Ehsaas’ Undergraduate Scholarship scheme, a collaborative project of the BISP and Higher Education Commission (HEC) will be launched. With the help of this scheme, the deserving students from marginalized families who qualify for the scheme will be able to access undergraduate education. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation.

Oct 7, 2019,  Special Assistant on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Dr. Sania Nishtar says the government has decided to run social protection programmes under public private partnership. Addressing a news conference in Islamabad, she said social welfare programmes will be expanded through public private partnership model. Dr. Sania Nishtar said a Langar was opened in Islamabad today in collaboration with Saylani Welfare International Trust to provide free food to the needy. This langar scheme will be stretched out countrywide with 112 langar schemes under Ehsaas to be set up over 2 years period. These schemes will feed millions of deserving people. She said under the MoU signed with Saylani Trust, quality of food will be ensured. Further Dr. Sania outlined that once, clear Ehsaas Langar policy, brand book, one window app and governance framework are in place, the Langar scheme will ensure philanthropy by private sector reaches out deserving. The full press conference can be accessed here.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kIYn3UBXMPaAkH5vUrgi790FDKvKlpcL

Oct 7, 2019, The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $200 million loan as additional financing to help support the Government of Pakistan’s flagship social protection programme, Ehsaas under which BISP supports more than 5 million eligible families across the country through over $3.6 billion in total cash transfers disbursed so far. BISP is one of the largest executing agencies of Ehsaas which is primarily funded by the Government of Pakistan and it supports Ehsaas through cash transfers, poverty graduation programs, and a targeted social safety net. The ADB-financed Social Protection Development Project, has enabled the enrollment of over 855,000 women beneficiaries to BISP, or about 15% of the eligible beneficiaries. The $200 million additional financing for this project will continue to support cash transfers as well as help BISP implement institutional strengthening measures. Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation and Chairperson BISP stated, ‘Ehsaas welcomes ADB’s funding to Pakistan that will help the Government in implementing the social protection and poverty alleviation initiatives which foster human capital development’.

Oct 7, 2019, The Prime Minister launched the ‘Ehsaas Langar Scheme’ today in Islamabad. Under an agreement with the Saylani Welfare Trust, Ehsaas will open 112 Langars nationwide over a 2-year period in the public private partnership. The Langars are meant to serve meals to the poorest and most vulnerable segments of the society, especially daily wage laborers. The first Langar was opened in Islamabad today, where at least 600 people will be provided free meals daily. The Ehsaas scheme will now be extended countrywide with as many as 112 Langar schemes being set up over the period of two years to feed millions of people lacking food. Talking to the people being served with food at the Langar site, the Prime Minister said, “Ehsaas Langar is a real step towards the creation of welfare state modelled on Riyasat e Madina. The Langar is aimed at feeding the poor and improving the lives of marginalized. This is our government’s top priority that nobody should sleep hungry in Pakistan’. Addressing all present at the occasion, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation thanked the Prime Minister for his supervision and guidance in making Langar scheme a reality. She then continued, ‘the recent Langar scheme is a continuation of our religious and cultural legacy as well and it will not only provide relief to those in need but will also add value to the lives of daily laborers and those earning low incomes’.

October 2, 2019,  Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation was invited by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to represent the Federal Government at the event that took place in Mirpur to distribute cheques amongst the next of kin and legal heirs of the deceased due to earthquake last week.  Chairman NDMA, SAPM on Information, Firdaus Ashiq Awan and members of the local administration were also present on the occasion. Speaking to the affectees, Dr. Nishtar extended her heartfelt condolences to them and said that Government of Pakistan will never leave them alone in these hard times. Later, Dr. Nishtar together with Lt. Gen. Muhammad Afzal, Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) paid a visit to the earthquake affected areas of Mirpur to inquire after the affecters. She expressed her grief over the loss of human lives and went to village Sahang Kikri to inquire after the affected families. ‘I can deeply feel the pain of the people who suffered losses and extend my greatest sympathies to them’, she added. Sympathizing the affectees, she assured them that the rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the earthquake-hit areas is the top priority of the government of Pakistan.

Oct 2, 2019,  Fully determined to reduce the burden of hunger for the poor, the Government of Pakistan’s multisectoral poverty alleviation programme, ‘Ehsaas’ is partnering with Saylani Welfare International Trust (SWIT) to open ‘Ehsaas Langar’ (soup kitchen) shortly in Islamabad. This joint initiative will later be extended countrywide to other cities as well to feed the poor and needy, in particular in Karachi, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Quetta and Peshawar.  To mutually articulate the policy and operational modalities for launching and expanding Ehsaas Langar, Dr. Sania Nishtar had invited the leadership of SWIT at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat in Islamabad yesterday. It was discussed that once the overarching policy and operational modalities have been finalized by the end of this week, it will be followed by memorandum of action that will be inked between Ehsaas and SWIT.  During the course of meeting, the preliminary scale, breadth and diversity of the joint initiative were also framed out by both the parties.  It was agreed that further deliberations will take place soon to build up on the agreed areas of collaboration including identification of Langar sites in different areas of Pakistan.

Oct 1, 2019, One of the important Ehsaas initiatives, the Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarships scheme is to be launched soon. Ehsaas has over 130 policies and programmes and this is one of them. The Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarships scheme is a key initiative of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and Higher Education Commission (HEC). A memorandum of agreement has already been signed on September 20, 2019 and today the project steering committee met, to firm up modalities of the joint working. The meeting was co-chaired by Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation and Dr. Tariq Banuri, Chairman, HEC. Talking about the initiative, Dr. Nishtar said, “the Prime Minister has instructed that the undergraduate scheme should be launched as soon as possible. The Government realizes that deprivation to education is the highest contributor in Pakistan’s national multi-dimensional poverty index. Therefore, Ehsaas wishes to pay special attention to the education of undergraduate students especially women and girls from underprivileged families and areas’. Through this initiative, students qualifying for the project will have access to undergraduate education regardless of income, gender, or location. The number of scholarships will be determined based on the budget envelope.

Sep 29, 2019,  Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation together with Dr. Hafeez A. Pasha, a renowned Pakistani economist, Jochen Hippler and Muhammad Ziauddin led an informative session on ‘Economic Reform agenda of Pakistan’ at 6th Islamabad Literature Festival 2019. During the session, Dr. Nishtar threw light on several economic challenges being faced by Pakistan. The session was organized by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) is a private, German non-profit organization committed to the values of Social Democracy. She highly applauded the Islamabad Literature Festival and appreciated the manner in which it had succeeded in emphasizing Pakistani literature and culture.

Sep 26, 2019,  Dr. Sania Nishtar joined President of Costa Rica, Dr. Sabina Alkire & other ministers at the multidimensional poverty peer network meeting during 74th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 74). Dr. Nishtar shared about how Ehsaas is using both income as well as multidimensional poverty index (MPI) metrics for policy design and targeting. She also highlighted 4 data-related aspects in Ehsaas framework including 1) evidence gathering on the local drivers of poverty for policy action; 2) launching of district development portal; 3) the national strategy for the development of statistics; and 4) the national socio-economic registry 2019. It was emphasized that since rigorous data is needed for good policies, the government of Pakistan uses district level disaggregations of the National MPI for policy design and targeting.

Sep 26, 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation together with Bill Gates, Co-chair, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation joined a lightning talk at the SDG Action Zone 2019 in New York. During the talk, Dr. Nishtar explained about what Ehsaas entails, its components, progress underway, its priorities, & partnership approach, challenges & opportunities and what success entails. Bill Gates outlined how digital & financial inclusion can be a force multiplier to address poverty.  The SDG Action Zone has shown keen interest in partnering for poverty alleviation in Pakistan with The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The SDG Action Zone is a space inside the United Nations grounds during General Assembly week (UNGA) where different actors can engage around the UN-high-level meetings and events in a meaningful and visible way.

Sep 26, 2019, During 74^th session of UN General Assembly in New York, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation joined Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohammad and ministers from Turkey and Malaysia to discuss the imperative of environmental stewardship for addressing poverty. During the meeting, it was emphasized to build synergies between climate action and the drive against poverty.

Sep 25,2019, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (B&MGF) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Pakistan for its Ehsaas initiative on poverty alleviation. Prime Minister Imran Khan and Bill Gates, co-chair of the B&MGF, witnessed the signing ceremony as Special Assistant to PM on Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Sania Nishtar and president of Global Development at B&MGF, Dr. Chris Elias inked the MoU. The B&MGF will assist the Pakistan government with a range of activities, including accelerating stunting reduction programmes, supporting financial inclusion initiatives and investing in public health systems to improve health and reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality. The foundation plans to spend about $200 million in Pakistan in 2020.

Sep 25, 2019,  Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation shared Ehsaas Nutrition Plan at the SUN Movement lead group meeting in New York.  The government of Pakistan’s resolve to use all government sectors to fight malnutrition was highly lauded. It was also urged that it is the hardest part of Ehsaas but also be the one that’s most rewarding in relation to human capital development.

Sep 24, 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar Pakistan at the WHO High level Summit on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in New York.  She outlined details about the multi-pronged approach to UHC under Ehsaas. Further, she urged that beyond Bismarck and Beveridge, we need financing innovations to achieve financial risk protection in mixed health systems.

24 September, 2019, Accelerating women’s economic empowerment is good for business and good for Pakistan, this is the message behind the launch of a new mentoring campaign by the US-Pakistan Women’s Council today. Attending the launch was honoured guest Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection. Dr. Nishtar elaborated on the myriad ways in which Ehsaas, Pakistan’s new equality centered initiative is mainstreaming the role of women in the economic sphere, through financial inclusion amongst other measures, creating livelihoods and jobs. The programme is called the Pakistan Million Women Mentors Initiative and it aims to connect a million women and girls in Pakistan with mentors over the next three years. “Women’s empowerment is absolutely critical to ending poverty and is a key principle of the Ehsaas. When women join the work force it benefits everyone in the country, and I am glad to support the US-Pakistan Women’s Council and the Pakistan Million Women Mentors Initiative,” said Dr. Nishtar following the event. “By connecting young women and girls from Pakistan with leaders in industry we can give them many more opportunities to thrive as the businesswomen and leaders of tomorrow.” Attending the event were dozens of talented Pakistani exchange students, who took part in a speed-mentoring event to launch the mentoring initiative.

Sep 19, 2019,  During her meeting with IMF team, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation and Chairperson BISP apprised them about how the IMF’s Fund can help the ongoing efforts of the government of Pakistan to protect the most vulnerables. She informed the IMF team that the government has substantially increased the social protection spending under Ehsaas framework. ‘The Ehsaas’ poverty reduction strategy isarticulated in four pillars and it currently embodies 115 policy actions, which may be expanded as the process of consultations on the program, further widens. Thefour pillars include: addressing elite capture and making the government system work to create equality; safety nets for disadvantaged segments of the population;jobs and livelihoods; and human capital development’, she added. IMF team appreciated the multisectoral approach of the government of Pakistan under Ehsaas.

Sep 16, 2019, The Ehsaas strategy has been released to the public for feedback today at pass.gov.pk. The strategy elaborates on the Prime Minister’s vision of a welfare state. This is a landmark document because of the quality, clarity and comprehensiveness of the Strategy presented. It is the first time in the history of the country that a strategy document of the government has been shared with government departments and the public at the same time.  “By putting the strategy out for public consultation, we are introducing a new culture of openness and transparency that will enable the government to work in collaboration with the best and brightest brains in the country” Sania Nishtar tweeted @SaniaNishtar while releasing the strategy, seeking inputs on feedback@pass.gov.pk. The Strategy document is on the website of the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division. According to the new strategy document, it “outlines the Government’s vision, which is the bedrock on which Ehsaas has been built; the Principles, which drive Ehsaas; the context in which it has been shaped; the Theory of Change, which underpins its conceptualization; and the four pillars under which its goals, pillars, objectives, policies, programs and initiatives are organized. The Strategy document also outlines details about the manner in which 21^st century tools and approaches are envisaged to build a welfare state.”

September 11, 2019, Chief Minister Punjab, Sardar Usman Buzdar chaired the Punjab Cabinet meeting today in Lahore. Dr. Sania Nishtar Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection was invited to brief the Punjab Cabinet about the Federal Government’s Ehsaas program. This is the third provincial briefing on Ehsaas, following briefings in Sindh and Balochistan in the last ten days. All Provincial Ministers of Punjab, the Advisors to the Chief Minister Punjab, the Chief Secretary Cabinet Punjab, the Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Punjab, the Secretaries from the Government of Punjab Finance Department, Information and Culture and Law Department, Chairman Planning and Development Board Punjab, the Senior Member Board of Revenue Punjab and Inspector General of Punjab Police were also present at the occasion together with Federal Secretary Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division. Dr. Nishtar emphasized the commitment of the Prime Minister of Pakistan towards welfare of the disadvantaged, and reiterated that Ehsaas is one of the important vehicles through which this would be achieved. The Cabinet expressed keen interest to strengthen existing collaboration between Federal Ehsaas and Punjab.

Sep 9, 2019,  Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) thanked Dr Sania Nishtar today for her outstanding work in leading the WHO Independent High-level Global Commission on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs). The announcement came at the final meeting of the Commission held on 9 September 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Commission, is co-chaired by President Tabaré Vázquez of Uruguay; President Sauli Niinistö of Finland; President Maithripala Sirisena of Sri Lanka; Minister Veronika Skvortsova of Russia and Dr. Sania Nishtar, federal minister, government of Pakistan. Prominent global health leaders are on the commission, which was established in October 2017. The commission’s aim was to identify innovative ways to curb the world’s biggest causes of death and extend life expectancy for millions of people.  “We need leaders to unite and take action to tackle the biggest killers of people. NCDs are the leading cause of medical impoverishment. They lead to catastrophic health expenditures and many who can’t afford forego healthcare” said Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection. “Progress is possible and if we don’t take action we’re going to see already fragile health systems across the world collapse.”

Sep 4, 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar was invited by Women Chamber of Commerce and Industries Peshawar and GIZ Pakistan to congratulate winners of ‘Champions of Change Awards’ for Women from KP. Speaking to awardees at the occasion, she reiterated that Government of Pakistan’s Ehsaas programme is centered on socio-economic empowerment of women. The first lady of Pakistan, Ms. Samina Alvi and Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting were also present at the occasion.

Sep 4, 2019, Weekly Ehsaas Implementation Committee meeting was held today with BISP, Pakistan Bait ul Mal, PPAF, Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Centre for Rural Economy. These meetings have now been institutionalized under Ehsaas guide safety net institutions engaged in execution of Ehsaas programme to work together in a well-coordinated way.

Sep 1-2, 2019, The Balochistan Cabinet was briefed today about the Ehsaas Program of the federal government. The Cabinet Meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Balochistan, Jam Kamal Khan. The briefing was given by Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation who was on a two-day visit to Quetta to raise awareness about Ehsaas and forge partnership with the provincial government. The Cabinet took keen interest in Ehsaas programme and had several questions about the new national socio-economic registry survey which is underway to identify the poor. Dr. Nishtar briefed the Cabinet about Prime Minister’s priority programme ‘One Window Ehsaas’ and outlined many initiatives including Kifalat, Tahafuz, National Poverty Graduation Initiative, and online free resources that will be extended to provinces. She emphasized that the new programme will benefit all provinces. Earlier in the day, Dr. Nishtar met with CM Balochistan who briefed him about the innovations in PSDP process that Balochistan had spearheaded and the new instruments of social protection. Dr. Nishtar appreciated the initiative and vision of the CM. Both agreed to explore collaboration in the area of Balochistan’s Awami Endowment Fund and ‘Ehsaas Tahafuz’, as well as in the area of provincial finance commission which is Ehsaas policy area number 8 (PM’s Ehsaas Policy Statement dated March 27, 2019). Dr. Nishtar also called on Governor Balochistan, Amanullah Yaseenzai in Quetta on Sunday. She briefed the Governor about Ehsaas programme and its upcoming strategy. “The Ehsaas’ premise is primarily grounded in the importance of fostering federal provincial cooperation, strengthening institutions, transparency and good governance”, Dr. Nishtar added. Honorable Governor Balochistan, lauded the federal government’s efforts to benefit and uplift marginalized and deprived segments of the society through Ehsaas framework.

Sep 1, 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar conducted stakeholder meeting with local dignitaries and civil society from Balochistan. Dr. Nishtar gave them a comprehensive presentation on Ehsaas framework that is whole of the government programme aimed to reduce inequality, invest in people, and lift lagging districts. The stakeholders from Balochistan were apprised that Ehsaas currently embodies 134 policy actions whose implementation is the responsibility of 34 federal ministries, divisions and agencies in close coordination with provincial governments. These policy actions may be expanded as the process of consultations on the program, further widens. Dr. Nishtar mainly talked about Prime Minister’s vision on which Ehsaas has been based. “The Government envisages Pakistan to be a ‘welfare state’ based on the principles of Islamic ideology similar to those put in place by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Madina. Our commitment is to form a welfare state where rule of law, meritocracy, transparency and accountability in governance are guaranteed, where equal opportunity exists for all and where social welfare is provided to all those who need it”, Dr. Nishtar added. Further, she said that Prime Minister of Pakistan in each of the cabinet meetings lays special emphasis on welfare of the marginalized and asks each of the cabinet members about measures that have been done by their Ministries for the welfare of people.

Sep 1, 2019, During her visit to Quetta, Dr. Sania Nishtar visited the regional office of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) in Quetta and district office in Pishin to oversee the provincial progress and operations of BISP in Balochistan. She also met with the beneficiaries and guided them about the revamped BISP process and reform to make transactions more transparent. She shared that her focus is to build a strong system and to have preventive measures in place so there are no loopholes for corruption and other wrongdoings across safety net programmes. She will be conducting more visits to Balochistan in future. “When we make policies sitting in offices, there is a chance that we’re not getting it right. It adds significance in the policy-making when you go in the field and meet people on your own”, she added.

Sep 1, 2019,  On Sunday evening in Quetta, Dr. Sania Nishtar together with Shaista Sohail, Secretary Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division, paid a visit to Saylani Welfare International Trust in Quetta to explore options to collaborate under ‘Ehsaas’.’ Saylani Langar’ (soup kitchen) that runs thrice daily to feed thousands of poor and distressed is an exemplary engine. They have built transparent and accountable systems for scale. Ehsaas looks forward to exploring avenues of cooperation. Saylani Welfare Trust provides the charity services in areas including food, education, medical and social welfare free of cost to the marginalized people.

Aug 31, 2019, Addressing a session hosted by Governor Sindh and presided over by President Dr. Arif Alvi at the Governor House in Karachi, Dr. Nishtar apprised Sindh Cabinet members and parliamentarians about the government of Pakistan’s flagship programme ‘Ehsaas’. Nasir Ali Shah, Sindh Cabinet Minister, Mustafa Wahab, advisor to the PM, Waseem Akhtar, Mayor Karachi, and Naheed Shah, Chair of the Planning Development Department of Sindh were present at the meeting. She gave a detailed presentation on Ehsaas. Prominent members of the philanthropic community were also present. During her presentation, Dr. Nishtar elaborated on what Ehsaas can offer to Sindh, and how it can partner with Government and Non-governmental sector; she invited all public and private representatives from Sindh to work together with Ehsaas programme for the uplifting of people. She stressed that Ehsaas is a nation-wide program. It offers many things to the provinces—the Ehsaas one window programmes (Kifalat, Tahafuz, National Poverty Graduation Initiative, online free resources) will all be nation-wide. The New Socio Economic Survey currently being carried out of BISP is also country wide. And, the Solutions Innovation Challenge which Ehsaas will be launching for livelihood creation and social protection will also impact the entire country. Later in the Governor House, Dr. Nishtar held a detailed meeting with members of the press and responded to their questions about Ehsaas programme, clarifying the scale, breadth and diversity of Ehsaas.

Aug 31, 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar together with Secretary Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division, Shaista Sohail visited the Saylani Welfare International Trust, which is a Pakistani charity focusing on social welfare of the poor and distressed. Here, she spent a long time inspecting each of Saylani’s departments. She took keen interest in the food distribution system of Saylani Trust. “We will be discussing ways of opening ‘Joint Langars’, beginning in the city of Islamabad”, said Dr. Nishtar.  Saylani Welfare Trust endeavors to provide the quality services in areas including food, education, medical and social welfare free of cost to the marginalized people. With over 60 different sectors, they primarily feed thousands of hungry people each day, hundreds more are given the hope of life through medical health care, many are educated to become leaders of tomorrow and several are given the opportunity to stand on their feet financially. Their physical presence extends throughout Pakistan with a vast network of 125 branches operating in major cities including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad and Faisalabad.

The third Ehsaas Communications Committee meeting took place today at PM Secretariat. Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation chaired the meeting. During the course of meeting, the communications plan for the upcoming Ehsaas strategy was discussed in detail with Secretary PASSD, Secretary MOIB, Additional Secretary PASSD and communications and media representatives from various stakeholders including Press Information Department, Associated Press of Pakistan, Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, PEMRA, PTV News, ATV, Provincial Social Welfare Department – KP, Provincial Social Welfare Department – Punjab, Benazir Income Support Programme, Pakistan Bait ul Mal and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund. Ehsaas Communications Committee is due to meet every Wednesday under the leadership of Dr. Nishtar.

Aug 22, 2019, In her capacity as a Co-chair of the WHO’s High-Level Commission (HCL) on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), Dr. Sania Nishtar was invited to join the opening plenary of 19th WPA World Congress of Psychiatry in Lisbon, Portugal. The World Congress was convened between Aug 21-24, 2019 to discuss how psychiatry can impact some of the most important social challenges facing communities across the globe. Virtually addressing the amazing gathering of 4,000 psychiatric community and mental health experts from 119 countries across the globe, Dr. Nishtar said that WHO’s HCL on NCDs strongly believes that mental health and NCDs are inextricably linked. They share common determinants each of which predisposes and exacerbate one other. She continued, ‘It is a dilemma that people with severe mental illness die 10-20 years early because of NCDs such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and unmanaged cancer. This is mainly because of their vulnerability to higher NCD risks such as physical inactivity, smoking, unhealthy diet and harmful use of alcohol’. The full footage of Dr. Nishtar’s address can be accessed here

Aug 20, 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Federal Minister and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation, launched the first Women in Global Health (WGH) Chapter in South Asia in an inauguration ceremony at the federal capital. During the launch she stated that women are 70 percent of global health workforce. But they hold only 25 percent of senior and leadership roles. The percentage is even less in Pakistan and there is a recognized need for introducing gender sensitive workplace policies for attracting and retaining female health workforce in the labor market. Dr. Nishtar also revealed that government is introducing a number of initiatives under the Ehsaas that are aimed at promoting gender mainstreaming and empowering women.

Aug 17, 2019, In line with his vision of universal health coverage, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday launched Sehat Sahulat Programme for persons with disabilities and their families in Pakistan and said his government’s vision was based on the principles of lifting the conditions of the downtrodden and weaker segments of society. Special Assistant to the PM on Health, Dr. Zafar Mirza and Special Assistant to the PM on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Sania Nishtar were also present at the launch ceremony. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Sania Nishtar announced 5 of the priority goals of Ehsaas, which are part of the Ehsaas Strategy. These include: Safety net for at least 10 million families, Livelihood opportunities for 5 million individuals (50% women); financial access to healthcare through Insaf card for 10 million families; scholarships and education incentives for more than 5 million students (more than 50% girls); and through the Kifalat program, financial inclusion and access to mobile phones for 6 million women and 500 digital hubs for them to access internet. These goals will be explained in the Ehsaas strategy, which will be released soon. Dr. Sania also elaborated on the other disability related policies in the Ehsaas framework.

Aug 12, 2019, On Eid day, Dr Sania Nishtar visited the Government of Punjab’s Child Protection home in Rawalpindi and the Edhi home in Islamabad. During both visits she interacted with resident children and women and social welfare workers firsthand over several hours and was briefed about the activities of both welfare homes. Their heartbreaking stories provided rich insights for Ehsaas policy actions on social safety of vulnerables particularly women & children.

Aug 9, 2019, The first meeting of Ehsaas Communications Committee was held in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat to discuss the communications strategic planning process, identify communications needs and priorities for Ehsaas Program and define key respective areas of execution for different organizations involved in the implementation of Ehsaas Program under the umbrella of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD). Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation chaired the meeting. In its first meeting, participants discussed the key elements of the Ehsaas communications strategy that is in its final stages of being developed. “The core objective of the strategy is to apprise potential beneficiaries about ways of accessing benefits”, Dr. Nishtar emphasized.

Aug 4-5, 2019,  Dr. Nishtar joined Strategic Leadership Retreat for Ethiopian women Ministers as part of the expert adjunct faculty along with distinguished women leaders from around the world. Ethiopian President H.E. Sahle-Work Zewdie and first African woman president from Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf also joined the Leadership Retreat and motivated Women Ministers.The retreat was organized in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.The primary goal of the Leadership Retreat was to equip the new cohort of 10 Ethiopian women Ministers with tools to help them navigate effectively in a historically patriarchal political system, and to achieve their priority policy goals. The retreat was organized in three main parts: Legacy, Leadership and Delivery.Dr. Nishtar helped, led and informed discussions throughout the retreat. She mentored the Ethiopian Ministers along with other women leaders from around the world to map personal plans for their tenure in office.

Aug 1, 2019,  The Prime Minister’s Special Assistant( Federal Minister)  for Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation/Chairperson BISP,  Dr. Sania Nishtar held an intensive dialogue with youth from the newly merged districts of North Waziristan, South Waziristan and Khyber to discuss development issues and poverty alleviation,  and youth’s participation in these efforts , at the Human Resource Center of Sarhad Rural Support Programme at Peshawar.Dr. Nishtar said that Ehsaas would like to learn from the grass root experience of the youth for poverty alleviation.

July 30, 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar was a keynote speaker at the 5th CPA Pakistan 2019 Asia Regional Conference held in Islamabad. Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Nishtar stated that Ehsaas is biggest pro-poor & whole-of-government multisectoral program, not only for poor but for poverty-stricken areas as well. The conference was attended by Speaker of Ugandan Parliament and incumbent President, Member of British Parliament Lord Purvis of Tweed Jeremy Purvis, Member Malaysian Parliament Dr. Noraini Binti Ahmad, Chairperson CPA Executive Committee Emilia Lifaka, Secretary General CPA Akbar Khan, Speaker Gilgit Baltistan Legislative Assembly Fida Muhammad Nashad, Speaker Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly Shah Ghulam Qadir and other national and international personalities of prominence, members of parliament and observers.

July 29, 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation, was a keynote speaker at the inaugural session of the 4-day training program, ‘accelerating progress towards health related SDGs in Pakistan under the 2030 Agenda’, organized by WHO in collaboration with Imperial College London and Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, Pakistan. Dr. Nausheen Hamid, Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Dr. Shabnam Sarfraz, Member- Social Sector and Devolution were also present at the occasion along with WHO representatives. In her keynote address, Dr. Nishtar stated that Ehsaas is the most widely ranging, multisectoral -the whole of government program with multiple end points centered at equality and equity. It has four pillars and currently embodies 115 policy actions. Under the Ehsaas framework, multisectoral collaboration is a policy priority which is one of the unique illustrations of how multisectoral objectives can holistically drive the program towards equality.

July 25, 2019, Under the framework of the Ehsaas, the Labour Expert Group was constituted in May 2019 to develop recommendations to bring informal workers in social safety nets. Since its constitution, the group has met eight times and has put together an unprecedented effort. At the recent meeting, the phase of presentations by experts of Labour Expert Group has been concluded. At the conclusion, Dr. Sania Nisht constituted a writing committee to furnish a report on urgent basis so that practical steps can be taken to commence registration of informal workers.

July 24, 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar chaired a research meeting at the Marriott today where findings of research conducted by Oxford Policy Management Group (OPM) were presented. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Sani Nishtar said that “BISP was undergoing a multi-pronged process of reform and that the process was heavily being guided by evidence. She said that the reforms embodied creation of a new payment system, a new national census level Socio-Economic Survey, a new communications strategy and new program windows, especially configuring BISP’s operations around Kifalat and Tahafuz”.

July 23, 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar today chaired the first meeting of the Ehsaas Implementation Group. Representatives from all ancillary organizations of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD) agreed a future road map with a special focus ongovernance and cross-organizational collaboration. Dr. Nishtar stressed the importance of efficiency, stating that “To avoid duplication among the implementing organizations, an online portal would be set up to provide one comprehensiveplatform of all social safety and poverty alleviation interventions being carried out under Ehsaas.”BISP is being mandated to run cash transfers, Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal’s role is to be responsible for demand side social protection whereas the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation has the responsibility for poverty graduation.

July 19, 2019, As the present government’s fight against poverty picks pace, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation had detailed deliberations with the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund’s senior team at the latter’s offices to discuss its plan of action in reducing poverty under the Government of Pakistan’s flagship Ehsaas Programme. The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) is the lead implementing agency for the government’s National Poverty Graduation Initiative – NPGI, launched two weeks earlier by the Prime Minister, under “Ehsaas Programme; and NPGI is an important component of Pillar II of Ehsaas. The programme aims to provide the vulnerable segments of society livelihoods and social protection.

July 17, 2019,  At a meeting with a high-powered delegation of the U.S.-Pakistan Business Council, Dr. Sania Nishtar today briefed delegates on the importance of public-private partnerships in the Ehsaas Program. Dr Mehmood Khan, Chairman of the Council, led the delegation of over a dozen leading businesspeople.

July 17, 2019, Today, Gilead Sciences announced that it had partnered with 12 companies in Pakistan as part of the Corporate Coalition for Viral Hepatitis Elimination in Pakistan (CCVHEP). The announcement was made at a press conference attended by Dr. Sania Nishtar and senior officials from the Ministry of National Health Services. The coalition is led by a partnership between Gilead Sciences and Pakistani partner Ferozsons, with the founding members.In her keynote address, Dr. Nishtar stated that within the government system, Ehsaas is Prime Minister’s flagship program on social protection and poverty alleviation. This is first whole of government program in which implementation of 115 policy actions will be the responsibility of 28 federal ministries, agencies and divisions.

July 14, 2019, The Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD) of the Ehsaas Program has today adopted a comprehensive set of policy parameters aimed at ensuring that money reaches those in need by promoting transparency and accountability across all its projects. Commenting on the announcement, Dr Sania Nishtar said, “The primary goal of the new set of policies is to limit opportunities for corruption, while promoting efficiency, transparency and accountability for results.” It has been made mandatory for all ancillary organizations of PASSD to convene board meetings and board committee meetings regularly. Read More:

July 11, 2019, On a visit to Pakistan, President of the World Economic Forum (WEF) BørgeBrende said that Pakistan overcame problems of power blackouts and security, and should now focus on skill acceleration, required to cater to the needs of young people, who make up 60 percent of the population. Dr. Sania Nishtar was a keynote speaker at the meeting and praised the role that WEF was playing to connect thought leaders in Pakistan. She appreciated Mr. Brende for visiting Pakistan at a very opportune time when Pakistan is moving forward with transformative development agenda as the Prime Minister’s top priority. She elaborated on Ehsaas, as one such transformative agenda.

July 11, World Population Day was marked today at an event in Islamabad. Speakers included Dr. Sania Nishtar, State Minister of Health, Dr. Zafar Mirza and UNFPA representatives. Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Mirza said the governmentis striving hard to make reproductive health and family planning services available to every household in the country under the broad-based approach. Dr. Nishtar said the Prime Minister has strongly hinged the entire agenda of the Ehsaas Program on women’s economic empowerment, which is critical for better population outcomes.

July 10, 2019, The President of Pakistan and Dr. Sania Nishtar were both special guests at a seminar today held by the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad. The day-long event was titled ‘Poverty Alleviation in Pakistan: Learning from Success Stories’ and brought together intellectual and academic leaders from across the country.Dr. Nishtar said that knowledge and thought partnerships’ are very crucial for results-based implementation of Ehsaas framework and that there is no need to reinvent the wheel when the capacity already exists within the government and state system. Hence, Ehsaas wishes to draw on these prevailing knowledge competences, she said.

July 8, 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation in a drive towards the inclusive implementation of Ehsaas Program at the National level held a series of consultative meetings with Prime Minister AJK, Raja Farooq Haider Khan, CM KP Mehmood Khan & CM Gilgit Baltistan (GB), Hafiz Hafeez ur Rehman, Chief Secretary Sindh and Secretary Finance, Government of Balochistan. These officials were present in the capital for the first steering committee meeting of Ehsaas, Chaired by the Prime Minister, Imran Khan. The objective for these interactions was to create national harmony and building consensus in implementation of Ehsaas Program.

July 5, 2019, Prime Minister Imran Khan today launched the National Poverty Graduation Initiative.Part of the Ehsaas Program to help the poor uplift their living standard, this new initiativerecognisesthe urgent need to provide better opportunities for our youth, who make up the largest segment of society.Speaking at a ceremony here, the prime minister said that every ministry in the country will have a role to play. “Sixty percent of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 30. This is the future and they will elevate the status of our country. They must be provided education, hospitals and opportunities,” he added.

July 5, 2019,  Dr. Sania Nishtar was invited as a chief guest at Interest Free Loan Cheque Distribution Ceremony organized by Akhuwat Foundation at a local mosque in Islamabad. This ceremony was part of the PM’s National Poverty Graduation Initiative under which 82,121 people received loans worth 3.02 billion PKR today. Overall, 391 ceremonies were held today in 76 districts across Pakistan. Under the initiative, as many as 80,000 interest free loans will be given to the deserving every month for the next 4 years. At the occasion, Dr. Amjad Saqib, CEO/Founder Akhuwat Foundation, Qazi Azmat Isa, CEO, PPAF and Shaista Sohail, Secretary Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD) were also present.

July 6, 2019, Dr. Nishtar briefed the media about the National Poverty Graduation Initiative (NPGI) under the government’s flagship Poverty Alleviation Program ‘Ehsaas’. She said that the program will provide relief to the masses through interest-free loans, vocational and skills trainings, and asset transfers.Government of Pakistan has launched the poverty graduation initiative as a part of the Ehsaas strategy and aims to graduate the poorest households out of poverty to set them on a course of economic and social prosperity. Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) is the leading implementing agency for NPGI. During the next four years, every month around 80,000 interest free loans will be disbursed nationwide.  The range of the interest free loans is Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 75,000. As many as 3.8 million interest free loans will be provided to 2.28 million households. In total, 14.7 million people will benefit from this component. Interest free loans are accessible through 1,110 existing loan centers operated by partnering organizations. View the full footage:

July 3, 2019, Prime Minister Imran Khan was given a briefing today about the planned launch of the National Poverty Graduation Initiative. Scheduled for launch on Friday, July 5th, the initiative aims to give loans and training to the poorest Pakistanis to enable them to start businesses and gain skills which will help end the cycle of poverty. The initiative will impact 16.28 million people over a four-year period.

July 2, 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation, was the chief guest and keynote speaker at the ceremony, which saw a record 1,034 students graduate at the Lahore University of Management Studies (LUMS) Convocation 2019. Drawing on personal experience gained throughout her illustrious career, Dr. Nishtar inspired the graduates,“You are the academic dream of this country. You are the ones who will be picked up by companies, the corporate sector and government within the next three months. It is essential you develop the attributes, which will allow you to succeed in life.”

June 2019, Dr. Nishtar stood in queue with women waiting to receive money allocated by the government under the programme to BISP card holders. She directed the staffers at the centres not to make women stand in long queues to avail the facility. She also wants better internet facilities. Dr. Nishtar sat with waiting applicants on the ground and heard their complaints and assured a swift response and resolution to their troubles. Dr. Nishtar also guided them about the process. She further added that these surprise visits help her with policy-making and she will be conducting more visits in future. She concluded that her focus is to build a strong system and to have preventive measures in place so there are no loopholes for corruption and other wrongdoings.

June 16, 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar and Bill Gates, founder and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation met today to discuss pressing health and development needs in Pakistan.The Gates Foundation is a major supporter of global health and development around the world. In Pakistan, much of the foundation’s work to-date has been focused on eradicating polio, new vaccines introduction and immunization strengthening.In the meeting, Dr Sania Nishtar and Bill Gates discussed key foundation partnerships in Pakistan including the polio eradication program, routine immunization and improving access to digital financial services for the poor.

June 16, 2019, Regional security and stability were the key topics of the CICA summit in Tajikistan today, at which Dr Sania Nishtar led the Pakistani delegation. Represented at the summit were 27 member states, which cover over 90% of the Asian continent. Dr. Nishtar engaged with world leaders including Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin to discuss regional cooperation and opportunities. CICA, whose secretariat is located in Kazakhstan, seeks to strengthen contacts and ties with the UN, regional and international organizations to support its efforts to strengthen peace, security and economic development in Asia.

June 8, 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar briefed the media about the Ehsaas measures that the government plans to implement in order to facilitate differently abled people across the country. Under the Ehsasprogramme, which was launched in March this year, the government will provide SehatInsaf cards to differently-abled people who are registered with the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) so that they can get free medical treatment from hospitals that are registered under the health cards, Nishtar announced. Furthermore, government hospitals have been directed to issue certificates to differently-abled people as per United Nations classifications so that free assistive devices, such as canes, wheelchairs etc., can be provided accordingly. View the full footage:

June 2, 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar today gave a passionate explanation of the Ehsaas Program to the media. Explaining how important it is to end poverty and bring marginalised groups and regions into the mainstream, Dr. Nishtar said the program was developed on the principles of the State of Medina. She highlighted a number of policies that will be introduced under the program, including mobile phones and bank accounts for poor women and interest free loans to enable people to start their own businesses. Dr Nishtar confirmed that the amount allocated in the budget for social protection will be doubled in the next budget. View full footage:

May 28, 2019, Speaking from his office in Islamabad, Prime Minister Imran Khan today confirmed the upcoming rollout of the Ehsaas Qarz I Hasna Scheme. Chairing a meeting to review progress on the Ehsaas Program, the Prime Minister spoke passionately about the forthcoming policy that will distribute over 80,000 loans to women and young people across the country, enabling them to start their own businesses and freeing them from the cycle of poverty. Dr. Nishtar also updated the Prime Minister on the current status of the Ehsaas Program.

May 24, 2019, Today, Dr. Sania Nishtar was the special guest of Oxfam Pakistan at the launch of its new campaign on women’s empowerment. Funded in large part by the Canadian government, the Women’s Voice and Leadership campaign aims to promote gender equality and protect human rights by supporting the capacity and activities of local and regional women’s organizations. Dr Nishtar spoke alongside Canadian High Commissioner Wendy Gilmore and Khawar Mumtaz, a renowned Pakistani academic and women’s rights activist.

May 20, 2019, To commemorate World Orphans Day 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar visited Anjuman Faiz ul Islam, one of the country’s leading charitable organizations. Known for their work supporting orphans and young people living in poverty, Anjuman Faiz ul Islam was founded in 1943 and has helped thousands of vulnerable young children over the last seven decades. Speaking after the visit, Dr Nishtar said she was “truly moved” by the experience. She went on to say she “learnt many policy lessons” that will help guide the national roll out of the Ehsaas Program, which will include specific measures to help orphans and street children across the country.

May 14, 2019, Following her appointment as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation with the status of Federal Minister, Dr. Sania has stepped down from all her executive roles in Heartfile. She will continue to be on the board of Heartfile.

May 14, 2019: Dr. Sania Nishtar has been appointed as a special assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan for social protection and poverty alleviation in addition to the chairing Benazir Income Support Program (BISP ) and Ehsaas program.

May 9, 2019: Dr. Sania Nishtar, along with Dr. Andre Goy chaired the World Economic Forum Global Future Council (GFC) on the Future of Health and Healthcare over a two year period (2016-2018). GFC comprises expert stakeholders representing the public and private healthcare sectors. For the 2016-2018 mandate, members of the GFC worked together to provide insights on how the evolution of global health and healthcare will affect us all in the decades to come, including through the implementation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Report which was launched this week can be accessed here

April 12, 2019: The international conference on Nephology was held in Melbourne. At its opening ceremony, Dr. Sania Nishtar delivered the Brenner/Dirks lecture on global health and non-communicable diseases. She spoke about the risking burden of NCDs and the three-pronged response needed to bridge a public health gap. The text of her speech can be accessed here.

April 2-3, 2019: Third Meeting of the WHO High-Level Commission on NCDs was held in Geneva on April 2nd and 3rd. The Commission worked in three sub-groups and deliberated on the way forward for its second phase. The commission’s second report is expected to be released in October 31, 2019, which is when the Commission will sunset. Dr Sania Nishtar chaired the meeting of the Commission.

March 28, 2019: The Benazir Income Support Program and the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food systems for Nutrition co-hosed a joint high-level dialogue on food systems in Islamabad on March 28. An outcome of the event is a statement of intent in which ministers, experts and other stakeholders agreed on specific, actionable policy options within their spheres of influence to support the provision of safe, affordable, accessible and healthy diets. The statement of intent is available at glopan.org/Pakistan-nutrition-statement.The meeting was chaired by Dr. Sania Nishtar. Speakers included Tom Arnold and Prof Sandy Thomas, Director, Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition.

March 27, 2019: The largest ever poverty-eradication focused program in Pakistan, called Ehsaas (feeling for the poor) was launched on March 27. At the launch event at the convention center in Islamabad, Dr. Sania Nishtar, who has designed the program, gave an overview of the program, following which Prime Minister Imran Khan formally announced the program and outlined his commitment to its policy goals. In order to facilitate Pakistan’s transition towards a welfare state, the Government is striving to play a more effective role in eliminating disparities between the have and have-nots. This strategic framework, therefore, aims to target poverty, vulnerability, malnutrition, and deprivation so that the fundamental rights of all citizens can be ensured. Ehsaas will reach out to all those now excluded, with a special emphasis on those parts of the country where development is lagging and where poverty is higher.The launching ceremony can be watched here

January-March, 2019: Following the notification of the Poverty Alleviation Coordination Council, on January 9, 2019 by the Government of Pakistan, Dr. Sania Nishtar convened more than 23 Stakeholder consultations in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat over a two month duration to develop a plan for addressing the issue of ‘inequality’ and poor ‘human capital development’ in the country. Some details about these consultations were posed on twitter #PovertyCouncilPak

March 18, 2019: Dr. Sania Nishtar chaired the meeting of the Advisory Board of the United Nations’ Institute of Global Health Advisory Committee meeting in Kuala Lumper on March 18. The institute is currently in the early stage of implementing a new strategic plan, the development of which has been shepherded by the Advisory Committee. At this meeting, the advisory committee took stock of progress and next steps.

March 4-5, 2019: Dr. Sania Nishtar attended a stakeholder hearing of working group 3 of the High-Level Commission on NCDs in New York on March 4-5. The meeting was convened by the World Economic Forum, and the Governments of USA and Kenya.

February 27, 2019: Dr. Sania Nishtar chaired a high-level international consultation convened by the Benazir Income Support Program, which was convened to solicit input to develop a new strategy for the government of Pakistan to address the double burden of malnutrition in Pakistan. The consultation was well attended by national and international experts.

February 1, 2019: Dr. Sania Nishtar attended the Prime Prince Mahidol Award Conference and joined the plenary panel on “The Political Economy of the Determinants of NCDs”. The plenary session was intended to set the stage for several parallel sessions that followed that day. The purpose was to discuss thestrategies for tackling major NCD risk factors (unhealthy diets, tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, physical inactivity and environmental pollution) and the underlying determinants, focusing on the implementation of the cost-effective interventions to achieve SDG3.4 and other NCD-related targets; to share and learn from national, regional and global experiences in addressing the main risk factors of NCDs and their social, economic, commercial and political determinants and to discuss how to translate these experiences to other contexts; and to identify knowledge gaps and strategies to address them.

January 23, 2019: At the 2019 Annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Dr Sania Nishtar joined a plenary panel alongwith Bill Gates, Tedros Adanhom, DG WHO, the Chair of GAVI’s board and Executive Director of the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria to discuss financial innovation in global health. The panel discussion can be accessed here

January 9, 2019: Dr. Sania Nishtar has been appointed as the Chair of the Poverty Alleviation Coordination Council by the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The Council has a wide-ranging mandate, ranging from coordination of the fragmented social safety net arrangements in the country and planning to catalyzing research and policy support to various entities.

Dec 2018,  After a month in office as Chairperson BISP, Dr. Sania Nishtar has issued a statement about her priorities, which emphasize the importance of reform, building institutional systems for integrity, effectiveness and transparency and the move towards digital precision safety nets. The statement can be  accessed here.

November 28, 2018: Dr. Sania Nishtar delivered a Keynote Speech at the Third Raffles Dialogue in Singaporeon the Future of Human Well-Being and Security. She outlined the nature of global challenges and prospects for quantum change. She paid rich tribute to Singapore: “a country on top of the world’s human capital rankings, with the lowermost child mortality, a country that has eradiated extreme poverty and made massive strides to counter NCDs, the global leader in the disability transition and champion of the whole of government approach”. She said that in order to address global challenges “what we need to change are institutional behaviours—and to change behaviours we must change is the design of institutions and the incentive structures”. She further added“I believe you [Singapore] are well positioned to facilitate development of new rules of the game, and more broadly respect for international rules and the multilateral system”. The text of her speech can be accessed here

November 26, 2018: Delivering the keynote speech at the ministerial conference on diabetes in her capacity as Co-Chair of WHO High-level Commission on Non-Communicable Diseases, Dr. Sania Nishtar termed diabetes as “the biggest epidemic of the 21st century”. The meeting was hosted by the government of Singapore. The keynote speech session was attended by the Deputy Prime MinisterShanmugaratnam, Minister of Health of Singapore, Gan Kim Young, and 11 health ministers of the Asia Pacific region. In her keynote speech she emphasized that “NCDs are forcing us to think very differently. They compel us to think about how to organize a new international response, and who to engage; NCDs are carving out a place in a future health ecosystem and are flagging important normative implications in this regard; and they are driving the needle on health at a very different level, domestically”. The text of the speech can be accessed here. On The same day Dr. Nishtar appeared in an interview with Singapore minister of Health Dr. Amy Khor in the program Singapore Tonight, exchanging views on diabetes epidemic. The Interview can be watched here

November 11-12, 2018: The annual meeting of the Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum, the global gathering of thinks tanks was held in Dubai this week. Dr Sania Nishtar has been a member of the health and wellbeing-related Global Agenda Councils since their initiation 11 years ago and also attended this year’s meetings. Council members leverage networks to cross-pollinate thinking in pursuit of a systemic approaches to solutions. The Council on the Future of Health and Healthcare is comprised of expert stakeholders representing the public and private healthcare sectors and working together to provide insights on how the evolution of global Health and Healthcare will affect us all in the decades to come including through the implementation of the Fourth industrial revolution. Dr. Nishtar was chair of the Council from 2016-2018 and has now handed over the chairing role to Helen Clark.

November 6, 2018: The Global Coordination Mechanism on NCDs’ General Meeting of its participants was held in Geneva from 5 to 6 November 2018 and was hosted by the Government of Switzerland. Dr. Sania Nishtar was the closing speaker. In her speech she emphasized that “the future of health and societies appears to have a deep interplay with NCDs—but transformations are happening both outside of the health sector and largely in the private sector”. She further added that “The future of health can be about the future of NCDs, but many governance imperatives are emerging, in relation to norms and standards and ethical, patient safety, regulatory and human resource capacity issues. There is a need to explore how we will overcome the financial access barriers which will deepen and ensure access to medicines for all”. Her speech can be viewed here

November 5, 2018: The International Advisory Board (IAB) on Global Health of the Federal Government of Germany held its second meeting in Berlin on November 5-6. Dr Sania Nishtar participated in her capacity as a member of the IAB. The IAB is providing inputs towards the process of development of Germany’s Global Health Strategy and, as part of that process, was briefed at the German Ministry of health and the ministry of Education and Research. The Board also met the Federal Minister of Health, Jens Spahn.

November 1, 2018: The first meeting of the of the World Oncology Forum Task Force was held in Villa Veronesi in Milan from November 1-3. Since Dr. Sania Nishtar was unable to participate in person, she delivered her opening address via a virtual link. She outlined how cancer and management of cancer was at the heart of most of the innovations in therapeutics today and what this was heralding for healthcare patters and health systems. She outlined the imperative for the establishment of new norms, capacities and regulatory systems. The World Oncology Forum has previously been very visible in relation to Cancer advocacy—their best-known campaigns appeals include: “Stop Cancer now!”“Treat the treatable” “Prevent the preventable” and “From Research to Policy”.

October 30, 2018: According to a press release issued by the Government of Pakistan, Dr. Sania Nishtar has bee invited to chair the board of BISP, Pakistan acclaimed safety net institution. Following her acceptance, she has been appointed today. the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) is the Government of Pakistan’s National Cash Transfer Programme and its premier safety net institution, which currently runs a targeted USD 1.15 billion national-level cash transfer program for 5.5 million poor and marginalized women. The immediate objective of the Programme consumption smoothing and cushioning the negative effects of slow economic growth.Its long-term objectives are to meet the targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to eradicate extreme and chronic poverty and empowerment of women.The Programmewas established through an Act of Parliament and works under the executive patronage of Prime Minister.

October 26, 2918: The Global Conference on Primary Health Care was convened in Kazakhstan on the occasion of the 40^thP anniversary of the Declaration of Alma Atafrom 25-26 October 2018. The conference was hosted by the Government of Kazakhstan, in joint coordination with the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund, at the Palace of Independence in Astana. The conference aimed to renew political commitment to placing primary health care (PHC) at the heart of achieving universal health coverage (UHC) and the Sustainable Development Agenda. Charing and moderating the session on NCDs at the event, Dr. Sania Nishtar said “there can be no UHC without attention to NCDs—the world’s biggest killers”. Several country representatives also spoke on the panel, including Anda Caska, Minister of Health of Latvia, Deputy Minister Pinovich of Belarus and representatives of Cuba and the host country.

October 19, 2018: Dr Sania Nishtar was the keynote presenter at a symposium hosted by Western Australia—Precision Public Health Asia (PPH Asia 2018). With the theme ‘Discover, Share, Identify and Influence’, PPH Asia 2018 brought together a core group of visionaries and innovators to explore the current state of precision public health and consider the impact recent technological advancements are having to improve health outcomes. Her video-relayed presentation can viewed below. The event was hosted by the University of Western Australia and the Department of Health of Western Australia.

October 9, 2018: Dr. Sania Nishtar was the keynote speaker at the symposium “Engaging with Private Providers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries” during the fifth Global Symposium on Health Systems Research (HSR) in Liverpool, UK.  HSR is a 2-yearly conference organized by Health Systems Global—a consortium of international organizations and many other leading actors in global health. Dr. Sania talked about the importance of strengthening quality of care, effective regulation, and the imperative of harnessing the outreach of informal health providers.

October 2, 2018: Organizers of the multi-country south Asian trial (Control of Blood Pressure & Risk Attenuation trial [COBRA]) recently held a ‘Policy Forum on Hypertension and Cardiometabolic Risk’ in Colombo. The trial is undergoing in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka and is supported by the Welcome Trust. Dr. Sania Nishtar, delivered the keynote address. She underscored the need for Universal Health Coverage to include hypertension and diabetes care for all segments of the population “Countries are crying out desperately for help. This is evidenced by data from WHO’s Country Cooperation Strategies in more than 150 countries. We could end up undermining the economic viability of Universal Health Coverage if plans failed to address the world’s leading killer”, she said.

October 2, 2018: The World Cancer Congress (WCC) is a major event in the global cancer control agenda. It is arecognized international conference “which encourages effective knowledge transfer and best practices exchange amongst 3,500 cancer control and public health experts from 150 countries”. It aims to strengthen the participants’ action and impact on national, regional and international scales through a multidisciplinary program that features the latest successful interventions in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care. Dr. Sania Nishtar was the keynote speaker at the opening plenary of the conference; her talk, delivered through a video link can be accessed below.

27 September 2018: The High-Level commission on NCDs hosted an event at the United Nations in New York on September 27. Co-chairs of the commission, Dr. Tabare Vasquez, President of Uruguay and Dr. Sania Nishtar co-chaired the meeting. The status of progress of the commission and its scope of work for its next phase were discussed by the co-chairs and other commissioners who were present.

27 September 2018: Dr. Sania Nishtar delivered an impassioned address at the 3rd High-Level Meeting on NCDs at then United Nations. She outlined the importance of many developments by the private sector, which are paving the way for health systems to become more choric care centric and reiterated the need for stepping up public roles—norm setting, bolstering regulatory capacity and the need to address financial access barriers. Her co-panelists at the session included President Edgar Lungu of Zambia, The Honorable Timothy Harris, Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, and Zoleka Mandela. The text of Sania Nishtar’s speech can be accessed here.

26 September 2018, 6 pm: Dr. Nishtar ended the day by delivering the closing keynote back at the United Nations event on Addressing Childhood Obesity.  In her remarks, Dr. Nishtar underscored the importance of data-driven solutions.  Without data, we cannot ensure that our policies benefit the who need it most. By expanding and standardizing data collection, we can begin to tackle childhood obesity.The text of Sania Nishtar’s talk can be accessed here. The event was organized by the Government of Portugal and was chaired by Adalberto Campos Fernandes, Minister of Health of Portugal and Fernando Araujo, Secretary of State for health of Portugal. James Chau moderated the event. Dr. Sania Nishtar has previously served as the Chair of the WHO Commission on Ending Childhood obesity, the recommendations of which are currently being implemented, globally.

26 September 2018, 11 am: Dr. Sania Nishtar joined the Devex/World Economic Forum discussion on the importance of early detection and diagnosis. By highlighting the remarkable potential, the technologies and innovations pose for the NCD world, Dr. Nishtar highlighted the imperative that these benefits be equitably distributed to those most in need.Dr. Nishtar continued and participated in the Sustainable Development Impact Summit, discussing the role of public-private partnerships in addressing the burden of NCDs.

26 September 2018, 8 am: In the week of the 73rd UNGA, Dr. Sania Nishtar started the day at the SUN Group meeting. Dr. Nishtar stressed the importance of networking out of silos, creating platforms for shared experience, and strong governance in order to address malnutrition in all its forms. “To make meaningful change, we must institutionalize this at the country level”, she said.

September 25, 2018, 6 pm: On September 25^th, Dr. Sania Nishtar made the fourth keynote speech of the day on sessions associated with the 73^rd United Nations General Assembly. She finished the day giving both the opening keynote and speaking on the panel organized by Access Accelerated and the World Bank on Collaborating to Overcome Barriers to Decisive Global and Local Action on NCDs.  “With a clear strategy, dedicated funding, and institutional partnerships, we can work together to translate words into actions.  It is important that this agenda by set by those on the ground”, she said.

25 September 2018, 4 pm: Dr. Sania Nishtar delivered the closing keynote for EAT’s high-level event on “Food Systems Approaches to the Prevention of NCDs” at the United Nations headquarters in New York.The meeting was hosted by the Governments of Norway, Finland, Sweden and Indonesia, C40, EAT, WHO, the SUN Movement and the Nordic Council of Ministers.Dr. Nishtar highlighted the dual burden of malnutrition—both over- and under-nutrition—as contributors to NCDs. By partnering with public and private organizations, we can use a myriad of interventions and regulations to ensure that food promotes health rather than disease.The of Sania Nishtar’sstatement can be accessed here.

25 September 2018, 10 am: Dr. Sania Nishtar kicked-off the Teva-Intel-IAPO multi-sectorial talk with her keynote distillation of the NCD burden as borne by individual patients.  Although patients may bear sixteen or more chronic diseases, they often do not fit the “classic” image of a non-communicable disease patient.  “People do not come neatly packaged into silos; neither should our solutions”, she said.

25 September 2018, 9 am: Dr. Sania Nishtar gave a keynote address at the opening session of an event organized by NCD Synergies Project at Partners in Health, the Program in Global NCDs and Social Change at Harvard Medical School, and the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust in support of The Lancet Commission on Reframing NCDs and injuries for the Poorest Billion. This meeting was held in New York on the sidelines of the 73^rd UNGA. Sania outlined how the global community can better address the burden borne by the world’s poorest and neediest due to NCDs and injuries. Dr. Nishtar pushed for an evolution beyond the traditional 4×4 approach to NCDs, impressing the importance of systems-level interventions to meet the real-world needs on the ground.

September 24, 2018: Dr Sania Nishtar was the closing keynote speaker at the launch of the Defeat-NCD Partnership, a new global public-private partnership established to progress sustained actions against non-communicable diseases towards achieving SDG 3 by 2030. The launch took place at the United Nations General Assembly. Other speakers included Ulla Tornaes, Danish Minister for Development Cooperation, Denmark; Dr The Honorable Timothy Harris, Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis; Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, CEO of Novo Nordisk; Grete Faremo, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UNOPS; and Francesco Rocca, President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

August 31, 2018: Donald Berwick and Sania Nishtar publish a commentary today, in JAMA titled “Crossing the Global Health Care Quality Chasm: A Key Component of Universal Health Coverage: the commentary can be accessed here

September 3, 2018: Dr Sania Nishtar gave the keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the ministerial meeting on Universal Health Coverage for the Eastern Mediterranean region in Salalah, Oman on September 3. She talked about the importance of integrating non-communicable diseases into universal health coverage plans and emphasized that it would be a tragic missed opportunity if countries failed to address the world’s leading killers whilst they planned to cover their populations for health.

August 29, 2018: The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) of the United States released it report “Crossing the Global Quality Chasm: Improving Healthcare Worldwide”, today. The report and details about its launch can be accessed here. Co-chairs of the NASEM Committee which was responsible for producing this report, Donald Berwick and Sania Nishtar concluded by stating that the “the global status of healthcare quality is shockingly poor & worrisome”

August 23, 2018: Dr Sania Nishtar chaired the second face to face meeting of the high level commission on NCDs in Geneva where plans for the second phase of the commission’s work were drawn up. These will be posted online shortly for public consultation.

July 25, 2018: The World Health Organization hosted a meeting on NCDs in Moscow from July 23-25. The meeting was hosted by the Ministry of Health of Russia and its objective was to review plans underway in preparation for the 3rd High Level Summit on NCDs on September 27, 2018. Co-chairs of the high-level commission on NCDS Dr. Veronica Skortsova, Minister of health of Russia and Dr. Sania Nishtar met with the WHO NCDs directors to explore how to exploit synergy in relation to the work of the Commission.

July 14, 2018: Dr. Sania Nishtar gave the keynote address at the NCDs event in Chennai organized by the Public Health Foundation of India, DIWWAAAS and HRIDAY. The event focused on Girls, Women and Diabetes and was held on July 14-15, 2018. The aim of the workshop was to share and learn about the challenges and potential solutions on diabetes prevention and control especially employing a gender lens, within the overall ambit of prevention and control of Non-Communicable Diseases.

July 5, 2018: President of the UN General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, invited Dr Sania Nishtar to speak in the opening segment of the interactive hearing organised as part of the preparatory process of the third UN high-level meeting on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases. The interactive hearing was held on Thursday, 5 July 2018 at the UN Headquarters in New York. The text of the speech can be accessed here.

Dr. Sania Nishtar joins the International Advisory Board of the Federal Government of Germany’s on Global Health and attended its first meeting in Berlin from July 1-3. This board advises on current challenges and trends in global health and makes suggestions how Germany could further develop its engagement in the international community as the leading government, globally to promote global health.

June 11, 2018: Dr. Sania Nishtar and Johan Rockström gave the State of the Union address at the opening of the 5^th EAT EAT Stockholm Food Forum in Stockholm. The address can be viewed here and press coverage about the event can be accessed here. 

June 1, 2018: The report of the High-Level Commission on NCDs, was released in Geneva on June 1, 2018. The Report was released by co-chairs of the Commission, President Tabare Vasquez, President of Uruguay and Dr. Sania Nishtar, President of Heartfile. The Report was handed over to Director General of WHO, Dr. Tedros. The Report was published in The Lancet on the same day. The WHO monograph can be accessed and the event webcast can be viewed here.

May 25, 2018: Dr. Sania Nishtar spoke at several sessions accompanying the 71st World Health Assembly in Geneva this week. She was the opening speaker for both the Scaling up Nutrition side events on the 22nd and the 23rd of May. She was a panelist on a session on NCDs alongside President Michele Bachelet organized by the NCD alliance and in addition also spoke on a panel organized by the government of Netherlands, Colombia, and Norwary. In these sessions she spoke alongside the Ministers of Health of Jamaica, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, DR Congo, and Norway and other health experts. Dr. Sania also chaired a meeting of the High-Level Commission on NCDs this week at the Palais de Nations. She keynoted the breakfast townhall event of NCD Child and also gave opening remarks at the G4 Surgical Alliance event this week.

May 22, 2017: SaniaNishtar’scommentary explaining how to integrate Non-communicable diseases with Universal Health Coverage has been published on the British Medical Journal blog and can be accessed here: “Opportunities exist to negotiate policy space for NCDs in each health systems’ six building blocks, and therefore in UHC plans”, she says.

May 16, 2018: The British Medical Journal has published Sania Nishtar’s interview in BMJ Confidential, an informal space in which they quiz doctors about their hopes, fears, worst mistakes, biggest inspirations, and numerous other matters. The interviewcan be accessed here

May 16, 2018: the fourth and the final in-person meeting of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s committee on “Improving the Quality of Healthcare,Globally” was held in Washington on May 14 and 15. Dr Sania Nishtar and Dr. Donald Berwick, Committee co-chairs, chaired the meeting. The committee is expected to publish its report in September 2018.

May 8, 2018: Dr Sania Nishtar and Helen Clark write about the importance of gender parity in global health in a Project Syndicate comment which can be accessed here:

May 7, 2018: The third meeting of the WHO High Level Commission on NCDs and (the first one that was held in person) was held in Geneva on May 7, 2018 at the WHO headquarters. A large number of commissioners were present at the meeting. Deliberations focused on the first report of the Commission, which is meant to be released on June 1, 2018.

May 1, 2018: the Oped titled More provinces? by Sania Nishtar, published in The News can be accessed here.

April 17, 2018: Dr Sania Nishtar’s Op-ed in Gulf News titled “Fight against cervical cancer picks momentum” can be accessed here.

April 13, 2018: the Oped titled The E-voting Challenge by Sania Nishtar, published in The News can be accessed here.

April 9, 2018: the WHO Global Dialogue on Partnerships for Sustainable Financing of Noncommunicable Disease Prevention and Control was held in Copenhagen from 9-11 April. Dr. Sania Nishtar spoke at the closing plenary about the need for a three pronged approach to NCDs—domestic integration of NCDs into exiting systems, need for long term  domestic foresight and catalytic role of the international system.Her speech can be viewed here.

April 4, 2018: The Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH) and the Human Development Foundation (HDF) launched the “Study to Assess the Volume of Illicit Cigarette Brands in Pakistan” The study was carried out under the technical guidance of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Knowledge Hub, Economics of Tobacco Control Project and assessed the volume of sale of illicit cigarette brands in ten cities and their adjoining rural areas across Pakistan. Dr. Sania Nishtar was the chief guest at the event. Read More.

April 3, 2018: Dr. Sania Nishtar was a featured speaker at the Center for Peace, Security and Developmental Studies Institute Seminar on “Pakistan: how to tap the silver lining” where she spoke about the importance of transparency and governance reform.

April 7, 2018: Project Syndicate, one of the world’s opinion pages, publishes Dr. Sania Nishtar’s Op-Ed outlining how corruption impedes Universal Health Coverage on World Health Day 2018. Read here

March 17, 2018: Dr. Sania writes about the importance of human capital development for national growth and progress. Read more.

March 8, 2018: In an Op-Ed in The NEWs International Sania Nishtar and Helen Clark are aiming to inspire a Women’s health movement. Read here

March 1, 2018: Lord Nigel Crisp, co-chairs of UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health and an advocate for Nursing Now and Dr Sania Nishtar write about how important it is to accord attention to the potential of nurses in this Oped. Read here.

February 21, 2018: Dr. Sania writes about the importance of human capital development for national growth and progress. Read the oped here.

March 18, 2018: Dr. Sania Nishtar was invited to be the Chief Guest at the Third Pakistan Golf Association Amateur Ladies Golf Championship in Islamabad. She gave away trophies and in her keynote speech she said “golf has taught me many things in life. The importance of visioning, problem solving, practice, persistence, graciousness and respect”. She said it is critical for women to have equal participation in physical activity and sport, since that is a double-edged advantage both for women’s empowerment as well as has health benefits. Dr. Sania awarded the trophy to the winning team from Thailand.

March 21, 2018: It is now well established that most of the determinants of health lie outside of thecontrol of the healthcare system—these also includemany environmentaldeterminants” said Dr. Sania Nishtar at the opening of the International Conference on Environment and Health at the Allama Iqbal Open University here in Islamabad. Dr. Sania, who was invited to be the chief guest at the opening of the conference paid tribute to the organizers of the meeting for taking health “out of the silo” for the discourse at the conference.

February 13, 2018: Dr. Sania Nishtar was invited as chief of honor in the Punjab Human Development Forum, Pakistan. During her speech Dr. Sania Nishtar stated that Human capital will be the single most important determinant of economic stability of any country. The event took place in Lahore.

February 2, 2018: Dr. Sania Nishtar speak as a keynote speaker at the 1st Interdisciplinary Conference on the theme of “Action Plan for Physical Rehabilitation- RoadMap for Pakistan”. Foundation International University in Islamabad organized the conference.

February 1, 2018: Dr. Sania Nishtar participated as a panelist in one of the key session “Making the World Safe from the Threats of Emerging Infectious Diseases” at PRINCE MAHIDOL AWARD CONFERENCE commenced during 29 January to 3 February 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand.