A DFID team led by Ms.
Joanna Reid, Country Head DFID called on Minister of State and Chairperson
BISP, MNA Marvi Memon and Secretary BISP Mr. Omar Hamid Khan today at BISP
Secretariat. Other members of DFID team included Mr. Mazhar Siraj and Amina
Khalid.
The purpose of the visit
was to share the assessments made by DFID during Annual Review Mission 2017
which was conducted in October 2017.
In her opening remarks, Ms.
Joanna Reid stated that BISP as the premier social safety net programme of the
country is contributing towards the weaker segments of the society. She added
that DFID has ranked BISP performance as “A” as a result of key achievements by
BISP.
She highlighted that BISP successfully completed all Development Linked Indicators
(DLIs) which were agreed since inception of the Pakistan National Cash
Transfers Programme (PNCTP). A new DLI framework has
been agreed between DFID and BISP. Expansion of UCT programme continues with
5.63 million families who benefitted from this initiative since its inception.
BISP is making progress on Biometric Verification System (BVS) front as it has
been extended to 43 districts across Pakistan. On the occasion, Chairperson
BISP stated that DFID support has been very important in the design and
implementation of BISP initiatives especially Waseela-e-Taleem under which BISP
has enrolled 1.8 million beneficiary children in primary schools. The two sides
agreed, during the meeting, to expand Wasreela-e-Taleem program to
support 2.5 million children in primary schools by March 2020.
Secretary BISP stated that
besides making progress in the existing initiatives, BISP is committed to
implement new initiatives such
as ‘BISP Graduation Model’ and ‘Endowment Fund’ which would contribute
further in the welfare of beneficiaries. The organization is also expanding its
CCTs program to include nutrition, health and mother-child care aspects.
DFID team also put forth
some recommendations for the next year. They recommended that staffing gaps
must be filled immediately. BISP should prioritize completion of critical
procurement including the hiring of survey firms for NSER national rollout,
hiring of IPFs for CCT expansion in additional 18 districts, hiring of experts
for refinement in payment models and new contracts with the payment services
providers and procuring firms for impact evaluation.
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