International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) has declared Pakistan as the top-ranked Asian country for social protection responses to the Coronavirus pandemic.
It was revealed during a session of the global e-conference of IPC-IG titled “Turning the COVID-19 Crisis into an Opportunity.” The global e-conference is being held from 5-8 October.
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The @IPC_IG acknowledges at its global conference: Pakistan one of the top ranked countries in Asia w/ highest number of responses to social protection, #EhsaasEmergencyCash."Afghanistan included many humanitarian interventions; hence Pakistan tops the list” says Marina Andrade. pic.twitter.com/2Rn9oYTiOM
— Senator Dr Sania Nishtar (@SaniaNishtar) October 5, 2020
According to Marina Andrade, a researcher at IPC-IG, in Asia, the Pakistani government implemented the most social protection programs during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Although Afghanistan saw the highest number of social protection responses during the Coronavirus pandemic in Asia, most of them were interventions from humanitarian organizations. Pakistan, on the other hand, witnessed the highest number of social protection responses sanctioned by the government. Therefore, Pakistan tops the list of Asian countries for social protection responses to the Coronavirus pandemic, notes Marina.
Marina went on to say that the Pakistani government leveraged the Ehsaas infrastructure, developed originally in 2019, to disburse emergency cash to millions amid the Coronavirus pandemic.
97% of beneficiaries of the Ehsaas emergency cash assistance program utilized the entire money to maintain their livelihoods during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Marina lauded Pakistan for employing digital tools and coordination platforms to reach millions of deserving individuals in an efficient and transparent manner during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Besides Pakistan and Afghanistan, India, China, and Malaysia make up the top 5 Asian countries that implemented the most social protection programs during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Under the Ehsaas Emergency Cash program, the federal government had disbursed Rs. 203 billion among 16.9 million deserving families at the peak of the Coronavirus outbreak.
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