Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The health response was central to the pandemic, but Pakistan also prioritised support to the vulnerable. Cash grants covered a 100 million individuals, 3 million SMEs were supported through targeted electricity subsidy and a universal health coverage policy is being implemented, says a press release received here today from New York.
Ehsaas cash support was delivered end-to-end digitally; and in terms of the percentage of population covered, it was the third largest program, globally, following the US and Japan.
I would like to share four key insights from the know-how that was gained in rolling out this massive program in a context of complexity and uncertainty, with speed.
First, our experience has taught us that data innovations, delivery systems, and a commitment to integrity, transparency, and accountability are crucial to address the long-standing fault lines, that have plagued public sector delivery. Today, Pakistan’s transformative reforms hinges on these attributes.
Secondly, gaps in financial and digital literacy must be addressed to bridge the digital divide and it is with this in view that we have built financial inclusion into the overall design of expanded social protection.
Third, we must protect human capital from the negative coping strategies that are inevitable as a result of the pandemic—and in this regard, Pakistan is amongst the first few countries that acted concretely.
We placed nutrition and financial access to education at the heart of social protection objectives. Despite the COVID 19 disruption, we are on track to upscale a new nationwide health and nutritional conditional cash transfer program and have already upscaled our education conditional cash transfer program, nationally. Both programs are heavily skewed in favour of women and girls who get a higher stipend amount
To hedge against food price inflation, we took a policy decision to target commodity subsidies to benefit the poor and have provided universal social protection and universal health coverage for transgender and the eligible differently abled.
We are using innovative financing to combat hunger by forging partnerships with philanthropies and are structuring social protection programmes for informal workers.
Even in the midst of the pandemic, we fast-tracked work on the digital social registry in view of its importance for a 21st century welfare state.
We realise a lot more needs to be done and we are beware of complacency.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Pandemic has unearthed an opportunity to recast the role of the welfare state, which needs to be a major part of the re-commitment to agenda 2030.
Each country will have its own way of taking this forward, but the essential building blocks are the same.
In Pakistan, we believe the social protection of today is the human capital, the resilience, and the economic inclusion of tomorrow. Investing in social protection is both a response to current needs as well as preparedness for and insurance against future crises. We are humbled that through Pakistan’s social protection program, Ehsaas— which means compassion in Urdu language and which has been personally led by our Prime Minister—strong acceleration towards this goal is underway.
I thank you.
