Govt to support coronavirus affectees through Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme

Islamabad: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar recently announced that the government’s ‘Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme’ would benefit 67 million people in total — with the programme primarily aimed at assisting the people most affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a news source reported.

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Detailing the programme, Dr Nishtar announced that the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme has been approved for 10 million families, wherein PKR 12,000 will be provided to each family.

The 10 million people have been divided into three categories, with more than 4.5 million of these individuals expected to be women and beneficiaries of the Ehsaas Kafaalat initiative. Another 3 million people affected by the coronavirus pandemic will be identified through the socioeconomic database. Finally, 2.5 million will be identified through the Ehsaas SMS programme.

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The eligibility for the second category would be revised up to PKR 20,000 per month and include people who are facing economic hardship.