The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Monday that it approved a $ 200 million loan as additional financing to support the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP).
A press release issued by the Manila-based loan agency said that a social protection development project funded by the ADB, approved in 2013, had allowed the registration of more than 855,000 BISP beneficiaries.
Read: ADB approves $ 430 million loan for social security plan
They added that the additional financing "would continue to support cash transfers and help the BISP to implement institutional strengthening measures."
"Social protection programs such as the BISP are crucial to ensure that the poorest segments of the population do not go deeper into poverty, especially at a time when the country faces difficult macroeconomic challenges," said the Director of Public Management, Financial and Commerce Sector for the Department of Central and Western Asia of ADB, Tariq Niazi.
He added that the ADB committed to helping the Pakistani government "implement alternative modalities for social protection and poverty reduction, such as asset transfer programs that promote better human capital and reduce intergenerational poverty."
In addition, the ADB Country Director for Pakistan, Xiaohong Yang, said the additional funding "would support further institutional strengthening and improvements in financial management and controls in BISP."
"A policy research unit will also be established within the BISP to help monitor and improve the performance of ongoing programs and design new profitable and evidence-based initiatives, such as poverty graduation programs and conditional cash transfers for health and nutrition in line with the best global results. practices, "he added.
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1509505/adb-approves-200-million-additional-financing-loan-for-bisp