The federal government has increased the stipend for Ehsaas Kafalat beneficiaries in response to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s directives.
From February 1, the federal government has decided to increase the stipend for Ehsaas Kafalat beneficiaries to Rs1,000. Under the Ehsaas Kafalat program, deserving families will receive an Rs13,000 stipend, an increase of Rs1,000.
According to the government, the stipend increase will benefit 8 million deserving families. The federal government will provide Rs13,000 in financial assistance twice a year.
Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection, stated that the federal government will incur additional expenses of Rs12 billion to Rs14 billion each year.
Earlier this year, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $603 million loan to support the government’s ambitious Ehsaas social protection program.
The program will use conditional cash transfers to aid in the implementation of Ehsaas, Pakistan’s national social protection, and poverty reduction strategy.
The program contributes to the Ehsaas goal of increasing cash transfers to improve access to primary and secondary education up to grade 10 for poor children and adolescents, particularly girls, as well as improving health services and nutrition for women, adolescent girls, and poor children.
It also intends to begin coverage of accelerated learning programs at the primary school level for overaged out-of-school children through conditional cash transfers.