ISLAMABAD, December 10: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved Wednesday a $685 million loan to help strengthen and expand the government’s ambitious Ehsaas social protection programme.
Dollars 385 million in financing to help improve the liveability and community health of five cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and $300 million policy-based loan to support financial, technical, and governance reforms to strengthen Pakistan’s energy sector and improve its financial sustainability.
“The programme marks a significant shift in ADB’s strategic engagement in the social protection space in Pakistan in line with Ehsaas priorities,” said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov. “ADB’s support will transition from unconditional cash transfers that provide income support to a mixed-modality approach that focuses more on conditional cash transfers for education, health services, and nutritional supplies that will help reduce intergenerational poverty through human capital development.” The programme supports the Ehsaas goal of expanding cash transfers to improve access to primary and secondary education up to grade 10 for children and adolescents of poor families, especially girls, and enhancing health services and nutrition for women, adolescent girls, and poor children. – DNA
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