Federal Minister and Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Ms. Shazia Marri has said that a cash assistance initiative of BISP provided financial assistance to nine million women heads of households under Benazir Kafaalat.
In addition to Benazir Kafaalat, under Benazir Nashunama, 710 thousand lactating mothers and their children under two years of age are being supplied with food supplements to overcome malnutrition among them, she told.
During a panel discussion at the closing session of the “Global Forum on Adaptive Social Protection: Protecting lives and livelihoods in times of crisis” in Berlin, Germany on Friday, the Chairperson BISP said that since its inception in 2008, the Programme had greatly contributed towards uplifting the socio-economic conditions of the improvised and economically marginalized segments of the society, particularly the women.
The BISP is an ideal model of social protection that could be emulated in other parts of the world as well, mainly in the developing nations, she expressed.
Shazia Marri expressed gratitude to the German Government, specifically Minister Schulz, and other partners, including the World Bank and German Development Partner GIZ, for hosting an event on such an important subject.
She acknowledged Pakistan’s vulnerability to climate hazards, citing the examples of last year’s devastating floods and the ongoing threat of a cyclone BIPARJOY targeting Pakistan and neighboring India.
The closing session was moderated by Ms. Conny Czymoch, an Independent International Moderator and journalist. Other speakers, inter alia, included Ms. Svenja Schulze Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ; Ms. Esther Schüring, Social Protection Advisor, GIZ; Mr. Colin Andrews, Program Manager, World Bank; Mr. El Hadji Ndiogou Diouf.
In her talk, Shazia Marri shed light on the climate vulnerability faced by Pakistan.
