By Hina Kiyani
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety and Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), Ms. Shazia Marri has said that BISP has become an agent of change in Pakistan.
She was talking to a delegation of Yemen’s Social Fund for Development Sunday. A 23-member delegation of Yemen’s Social Fund for Development was on a 5-day visit to Pakistan to gain insights into the successful Social Protection Model of the BISP.
This visit was planned and organized with the cooperation of the World Bank. The WB representatives also accompanied the delegation.
Ms. Marri said that BISP was an effective vehicle of social safety for low-income segments of society that is supporting women’s family heads by providing directed cash assistance to them. This is the best and most practical method of women’s empowerment and their financial autonomy, she continued.
Our survey and registration process has encouraged women with low-income households and living in remote areas to register themselves and their families with the NADRA, the Minister said and highlighted that Benazir Taleemi Wazaif is a reason for the increased school enrollment at primary and secondary levels, as stipend under Benazir Taleemi Wazaif are given to girls and boys only if they are attending school with over 70 percent attendance.
The Chairperson also informed the Yemeni delegation that BISP is moving towards initiatives, such as Adaptive Social Protection and Digital and Financial Literacy for Beneficiaries and a program for adolescent girls.
She welcomed the delegation of Yemen in Pakistan and appreciated the WB for organizing this visit hoping that in the future more such visits will be planned so that maximum benefit can be reaped by exchange of ideas and learning from the experiences of each other.
She reiterated that Pakistan and Yemen are two brotherly countries and have always stood with each other in hours of need.
The Deputy Managing Director of Yemen’s Fund for Social Development, Mr. Wasem Qaid said that this was a unique opportunity to visit Pakistan and study for 5-days such a successful model of social protection, and found BISP a fantastic model for helping low-income groups.
He noted that when he discussed the idea of studying social welfare models of some developing countries, the instant response of the WB was that the BISP is the best model for such a study.
Mr. Qaid said that he hoped that this study visit will help a great deal in developing a similar model in Yemen as well.
