Daily Times

The World Bank (WB) has praised Pakistan’s initiative for cash transfers emergency programme and said that it would be instrumental in mitigating the impact of the economy due to coronavirus pandemic.

The World Bank (WB) said in an article published on its website that the cash transfers will be instrumental in mitigating the impact of the upcoming recession by ensuring that consumption by the poorest and vulnerable contributes to the local economies. The international financial institution suggested if the fiscal space allows the government, the emergency cash transfers should be considered as an optimal option to rejuvenate local economies. In April, Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced the country’s biggest-ever Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme worth Rs 144 billion to disburse Rs 12,000 each to around 12 million beneficiaries who were mostly affected by the worst economic impact of COVID-19.

At a time when cash transfer programs are the most widely used instruments to counter the socio-economic fallout from the pandemic, the case of Pakistan provides a good insight to others, the article added. No doubt this response is one of the best investments that a government could make in a crisis. The cash transfers provide purchasing power for people to meet their needs.

Nearly 24 per cent of Pakistan’s 210 million people are below the poverty line. The country requires a rapid response to protect its poor from becoming even worse off. The national lockdown imposed on March 13 is a necessary pre-emptive step to contain the health emergency. But it compounds socioeconomic risks for the vulnerable who have lost their jobs or can’t access health and social programs. In addition, the pandemic puts women, who are already disadvantaged in the labour force, at greater risk as they carry the invisible burden of caring for the sick, elderly, and children. One of Pakistan’s initial measures, with support from the World Bank, was to expand its national safety net institution, the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), to direct additional support to its 4.5 million women beneficiaries.

The government also scaled up its flagship cash transfer program, Ehsaas Kafalat, to include 7.5 million additional vulnerable families affected by the crisis — thus increasing by 85 per cent its annual budget dedicated to cash transfers.

Pakistan’s quick action was possible because the country has invested in programs like BISP and Ehsaas Kafalat which form one of South Asia’s largest social safety net systems. They provide quick registration options and reliable payments through state-of-the-art biometric technology. Their online linkage to the national ID database helps prevent duplicate payments while ensuring transparency. While these investments have achieved results, there’s room for further improvement, said the article. A move towards a dynamic system for updating the National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER) and integration among social program databases will help keep targeting data current and ensure a two-way flow of information.

Besides avoiding duplication of effort, a centralized and integrated social registry would also provide data for informed decisions regarding socio-economic policies and initiatives.