Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection, Dr. Sania Nishtar on Saturday said scope of the first ever shock-oriented precision safety net-Ehsaas Tahafuz was being expanded to the other parts of the country this year. Dr. Sania stated this during her visit to the Nishtar Hospital, Multan. Vice Chancellor Dr. Rana Altaf, Secretary Health, Director General Ehsaas Tahafuz and Director General Punjab, Ehsaas were also present on the occasion. In a meeting, Dr. Sania briefed the hospital management and officials about the Ehsaas Tahafuz Program. Dr. Sania said expensive treatment of deserving patients was provided free of cost under the Ehsaas Tahafuz Program. She said the Ehsaas Tahafuz Program was fully operational at Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi presently and would be expanded to other parts of the country this year. Meanwhile, Dr. Sania also visited the Ehsaas Registration Center in Gulgasht and interacted with the women and children who came for registration as well the staff of Ehsaas. Dr. Sania reviewed the digital enrollment of children of the existing Ehsaas beneficiaries under the Ehsaas Education Stipend Program. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Sania said more than 490 registration centers were operational in the country. She said since the National Socio Economic Registry (NSER) registry had been completed, the households which could not participate in the survey should register through the registration centers. Meanwhile, Dr. Sania also held a meeting with the students of Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan who were beneficiaries of Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship Program (EUSP). Vice Chancellor, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Prof. Dr. Mansoor Akbar Kundi, faculty members and Director General Ehsaas Punjab also participated in the meeting besides students from South Punjab and Sindh. Dr. Sania encouraged the talented students to pursue higher education with utmost dedication and received their feedback regarding the scholarship program to make it more effective. The Vice Chancellor of the University and students appreciated the efforts of the government towards ensuring transparency in the program. “We strive that the scholarships reach out to deserving students”, Dr. Sania said. This year, more than 122,000 scholarship applications have been received under the program while 50,000 applications have been submitted by the female students, she said.