Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, Shazia Marri Friday disclosed that the scope of the Benazir Kafalat program will be expanded up to 10 million people in Pakistan.She was speaking to the delegation of Tanzania Social Action Fund who is on a five-day visit to Pakistan.
The delegation is visiting Pakistan with the aim to learn from the experiences and best practices of social safety programs in Pakistan, particularly those of the BISP. Secretary BISP and other senior officials were also present on this occasion.During the meeting Ms. Shazia Marri informed the delegates about the various social protection initia-tives of Pakistan.
Talking to the delegation, the federal minister said that Pakistan wants to provide all possible support to Tanzania in the field of social safety. She said that bilateral visits between the two countries will prove helpful in making the social safety sector more effective. Ms. Shazia Marri told the delegates that the Benazir Income Support Program is currently providing assistance to 8.5 million people in Pakistan. She further said that the scope of the program is being expanded up to 10 million people.
The poverty rate in Pakistan has increased due to recent rains and flooding, she added. The members of the delegation appreciated the excellent data collection, biometric verification system and efficient payment mechanism of BISP.
The delegations specifically lauded Nashonuma and Kafalat programs of BISP which provide vital sup-port to the poorest of the poor.Ms. Shazia Marri expressed her gratitude to the representative of the World Bank for organizing this visit.She also presented ‘Ajraks’ and souvenirs to the visiting guests.
