Eminent intergovernmental agencies and international organisations have today joined forces to support the roll-out of the Ehsaas poverty alleviation programme. The assembly brought together 45 country heads and representatives from 25 development partners, UN agencies and international organizations working across Pakistan. Meeting today forthe first time in Islamabad, the Ehsaas Development Partnership Group discussed the terms of reference of their newly established group, the main objective of which is to provide integrated, coherent and aligned technical support and strategic advice to Government of Pakistan for the implementation of Ehsaas strategy.
The group discussed a number of key areas of support, including evidence generation, knowledge sharing, research, multisectoral collaboration, coordination, and engagement of the private sector, NGOs, civil society and other stakeholders. Currently, the group plans to meet on a monthly basis to discuss these and other aspects relating to maximising the impact of the implementation of Ehsaas.
“Ehsaas aims to lift millions of people in Pakistan out of poverty, creating a welfare state in our country for the first time”, said Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation, who chaired the first meeting of the group. Secretary Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division, Secretary BISP and CEO, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund were also present at the table. “To achieve this aim, we must ensure full coordination across stakeholders and partners in Pakistan, including UN agencies and bilateral and multilateral organizations, which is exactly what the Ehsaas Development Partnership Group is designed to do”.
Interested agencies are encouraged to nominate one senior representative who will act as a focal point for the group. For starters, there will be a stocktaking exercise to establish ‘who is doing what’ across the country, so that technical support can be better aligned.
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