ADB Approves $330 Million for Social Protection Initiatives in Pakistan

Pakistan’s federally run social safety programs and services would be strengthened with an additional $330 million in funding authorised by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The Integrated Social Protection Development Program (ISPDP), which is now underway, will benefit from the result-based financing by expanding social protection at the grassroots level to enable impoverished women and their families escape poverty.

The initiative would improve the Benazir Income Support Program’s (BISP), Pakistan’s premier social protection program, institutional capacity to make the shift to climate-resilient and adaptive social protection. For children and young people from low-income families, this will entail improving access to educational paths. For recipients living in disaster-prone locations, it will entail expanding access to health care and nutritional supplies.

ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov stated, “This program strengthens Pakistan’s effort to improve human capital development and reduce intergenerational poverty, especially for women who are disproportionately affected during difficult economic situations.” “The additional funding from ADB will help the government reach more of Pakistan’s most vulnerable and impoverished citizens.”

The ISPDP, which was approved in December 2021, consists of a $24.48 million co-financing grant from the Education Above All Foundation, a $3 million grant from the Asian Development Fund, and a $600 million loan from ADB’s regular capital resources. Since it began in 2022, the $627 million program has had noteworthy outcomes.

“The software is operating effectively. ADB Country Director for Pakistan Emma Fan stated, “It has contributed to better access to health services and nutrition supplies for women and adolescent girls, as well as increased access to primary and secondary education for children and adolescents from low-income families.”

For BISP, which is in charge of carrying out cash transfer programs, “steady progress has also been made to improve the financial management, procurement practices, internal controls, and information management system.”