How PTI launched Pakistan's Largest Welfare Program: Ehsaas
A program ranked among the top 4 in the world by the World Bank, and described as ‘international best practice’ by the United Nations, the Ehsaas Programme is the largest welfare and poverty alleviation program in Pakistan’s history. It was planned and funded by Imran Khan’s government and launched on March 27, 2019. It comprises 16 different social safety net and poverty reduction programs, the largest of which has served over 100 million Pakistanis by providing cash assistance during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Benefiting almost half of the country’s population, it has received widespread acclaim from international organizations worldwide.
The program is designed for the most vulnerable in society: the destitute, orphans, widows, those without shelter, the differently-abled, individuals facing medical financial hardships, the unemployed, struggling farmers, laborers, those in poor health or malnourished, students from financially-challenged backgrounds, underprivileged women, and senior citizens. Additionally, it aims to uplift regions with pronounced poverty levels. Ehsaas is a word in the Urdu language meaning “to feel,” representing empathy and a commitment to helping those in need. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, more than 13 million lower class people were granted monthly cash funds, free of interest or charge. One of the programs largest sub-programs is Ehsaas Kafaalat which served over 10 million women across Pakistan.
Imran Khan’s government outlined its goals for Ehsaas as a social care protection program as well as a big step in the direction of turning Pakistan into a welfare state as outlined by PTI’s Manifesto and the Constitution of Pakistan, where the government serves the people, rather than the other way around. Under the PTI government, the Ehsaas Programme was led by Dr. Sania Nishtar, who oversaw the program until it was shut down by the PMLN-PPP government in 2022.
Programs:
Ehsaas Emergency Cash (EEC): The largest of the Ehsaas program family, providing emergency cash assistance for Pakistani families with financial issues especially amid the COVID-19 Pandemic. The PTI Government launched the Ehsaas emergency cash program in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary purpose was to provide instant relief to the people of Pakistan. It has helped millions of families with emergency cash during the crisis. In the second phase of the Ehsaas cash program, financial aid of Rs14,000 was given to beneficiaries. This support has been considered a game changer for the lower segment of Pakistani society. A World Bank (WB) report ranked ECC among the top 4 best programs in the world and revealed that in 2020 alone, the program gave Rs12,000 in stipends to 15 million Pakistani households, benefiting over 100 million people in total, truly making it a landmark initiative in the country’s history. Read more
Ehsaas Panahgah (Shelters): Panagahs are one of the most important initiatives launched by Imran Khan during his tenure, as they not only provide shelter to daily wage earners but also a free of cost two-time meal to them. The concept of Panagahs emerge from Imran Khan’s vision of compassion to facilitate the destitute and helpless people, while upholding their self-respect. As part of the initiative, Ehsaas has opened model Panagahs all over the country, from Balochistan, Sindh (See Karachi), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (See Peshawar), Islamabad, Punjab, and Gilgit-Baltistan. In collaboration with Serena Hotels, specialized training was provided to Panagah staff for improving quality standards. Drawing on proper need assessment, these shelter homes have been established in low-income neighbourhoods and the residential areas of migrant workers to reach maximum number of labourers. Panagahs provide a one-star bed and breakfast facility with meals, essentials, hygiene and security standards. Imran Khan personally visited Panaghas during his term as Prime Minister, meeting with those staying there. By the 22-month mark of PTI’s government, 200+ Panahgahs were successfully established in villages and neighbourhoods across Pakistan. Read more
Ehsaas Kafaalat for Women: The Ehsaas Kafaalat program is one of the largest of the Ehsaas family and was initiated to provide eligible women with monthly cash stipends and bank accounts, prioritizing helping underprivileged widows and vulnerable women. It was launched by Imran Khan in January 2020 and served upwards of 10 million women in Pakistan. Beneficiaries receive PKR 2,000 per month, which is transferred directly through a biometric verification system, ensuring transparency and minimizing leakages. This branch of the Ehsaas Programme was founded to greatly reduce pay gaps and less rights regarding women’s access to cash assistance and resources. It was praised as a step toward empowering women in Pakistan and combating poverty. Read more
Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship Program: Pakistan’s largest-ever scholarship program, promoting education for the youth. The program involves merit-based and need-based scholarships to allow students from low-income families to pursue undergraduate degrees. It aims to break the cycle of poverty by providing educational opportunities that can lead to better economic prospects. It was originally launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan in November 2019 and expanded in March 2020, and in its first 2 years, it successfully gave 142,000+ students scholarships on the basis of merit and needs. It involves an annual 50,000 students getting scholarships. The large amount of students given scholarships makes it Pakistan’s largest free scholarship program, and is part of Imran Khan’s vision to uplift the younger generation. It is especially targeted at families with children wanting quality education but unable to due to finances. Read more
Ehsaas Koi Bhooka Na Soye: Launched by Imran Khan in March 2021, the program’s core mission is simple yet profound: to ensure that nobody goes to bed hungry. It aims to offer nourishing meals to the most inclined employees, daily wage earners, travelers, kids, and women who cannot afford a meal. Operating across the 29 most important towns of Pakistan in terms of needs, this system has already had a significant impact, serving over 80,000 people. Each meal is thoughtfully organized with care, providing sustenance and dignity to the ones in need. The Ehsaas Koi Bhooka Na Soye Program is a testament to the power of collective action in addressing socially demanding situations. By coming collectively to combat starvation, we reaffirm our shared humanity and dedication to building a more excellent, equitable, and compassionate society. It is considered one of Pakistan’s largest steps against malnutrition and hunger. Alongside other programs such as Ehsaas Panahgha and Ehsaas Langar, it was shut down by Shehbaz Sharif in 2022. Read more
Ehsaas Langar (Langar Khanas): The Ehsaas Langar Program was part of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s efforts to fight hunger during its government. The main goal of the Langar Program is to make sure no one goes hungry, especially those who can not afford even one time proper food in a day. The word “Langar” comes from a concept in the Sikh tradition, where free food is served to everyone, no matter what their religion, status, or background is and Langer is for everyone in Sikhism. Building on this concept, the Ehsaas Langar Program offers free meals to those in need, regardless of their background. This initiative primarily focuses on supporting: Homeless individuals, daily wage earners and laborers, and families facing severe poverty. As part of this effort, PTI’s government established 112 Langar Khanas (free food centers) located in various cities of Pakistan where those in need can enjoy a meal with dignity. The aim is simple: no one should sleep hungry. The Ehsaas Langar Program was a major food program to curb malnutrition in Pakistan through nationwide food centers in deserving areas, and was also run in cooperation with the Saylani Welfare Trust. Read more
Ehsaas Rashan Riayat: Described as the “biggest ever” welfare package in Pakistan’s history, it was rolled out by Imran Khan on March 6, 2022. Under the program, citizens get subsidies on major “rashan” like ghee, lentils (daal), sugar (cheeni), tea (patti), rice, and flour. It is a first-of-its-kind, end-to-end-digitized targeted commodity subsidy program which aims to lift the financial burden of the cost of certain basic goods for consumers, particularly those in difficult financial circumstances. Subsidies are usually reserved for corporations and higher class businesses, but Imran Khan wanted to change this by creating the largest subsidy package for low-income households. Within the first five months, the program saw an overwhelming response and received more than 40 million registrations from beneficiaries. To process these, PTI’s government set up a robust beneficiary verification pipeline through which more than 4 million families were declared eligible. The plan was to reach more than 50,000 merchants by the end of the 2022 calendar year, but the program was shut down by PMLN, a move which drew major criticism. Read more
Ehsaas Nashonuma: A health and nutrition conditional cash transfer program which aims to address stunting in children under 23 months of age. It was launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan on August 13, 2020. Pakistan’s high rates of 40.2% stunting, 28.9% underweight and 17.7% wasting were indicative of a crisis among children. In Imran Khan’s 2018 victory speech, he highlighted the key issue of stunting and committed to addressing it. The program has been designed in line with his vision to address stunting. The target population includes pregnant and lactating women and children under 23 months of age. Cash transfers are linked to the consumption of specialized nutritious food, immunization, checkups, and participation in health awareness training sessions. The quarterly stipend amount is Rs.1,500 for mother and boychild, and Rs. 2,000 for girlchild. The overall budget for three years is Rs. 32 billion that covered over 1.5 million mothers and children. 50 Ehsaas Nashonuma Centers in the 15 most stunted districts of Pakistan were established by PTI’s government. Read more
Ehsaas Tahafuz: Ehsaas Tahafuz is Pakistan’s first precision safety net, launched by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Government on April 1, 2022. It is a patient centric program that caters to one-time catastrophic health expenditures for those who lack the ability to bear the heavy expenditures. Tahafuz was functional in the Holy Family Hospital of Rawalpindi to identify patients facing catastrophic health expenditures, who are not covered by Sehat Insaf Card or are in hospital not enrolled in Sehat Sahulat Program. Deserving patients are assessed by the system, and if eligible, are provided funding by allocating donations to the patient. Before Imran Khan’s government was removed, the programme was being expanded across 14 tertiary care hospitals of all provinces and federating units. Ehsaas Tahafuz represents a global innovation in health financing where a patient-level purchasing system has been developed at scale. On March 31, 2022 the portal of Ehsaas Tahafuz was opened by PTI’s government for the empanelment of public hospitals. The program covers around 900 treatment packages across 21 departments. Read more
Ehsaas Aamdan: Launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan in Layyah, South Punjab on 21 February 2020, this project aims to create opportunities for those that are the most disadvantaged to improve their quality of life. The program involves giving away of small “assets” to those who live below the poverty line so that they can earn a living and can come out of the shackles of poverty. Assets include livestock (goats, cows, buffaloes, and poultry), agricultural inputs, body of Chingchi rickshaws, and inputs for small retail outlets and small enterprises. The program was implemented in 375 rural Union Councils in 23 of the poorest districts across the 4 provinces. With a budget of Rs. 15 billion and a target of 200,000 beneficiaries, it has seen success in rural Punjab. Read more
Ehsaas Education Stipends Program: The program provides digitized, streamlined stipends to school students to promote education as well as incentivize and encourage enrollment in schools. Pakistan has millions of out-of-school students many of which are forced to do child labor; this program, through incentivizing education and aiding with finances, helps to combat this. Inaugurated by Imran Khan on September 1, 2021, boys get quarterly stipends of Rs1,500 and girls get Rs2,000; at a secondary level, boys get Rs2,500 and girls Rs3,000, and at a higher education level, boys get Rs3,500 and girls Rs 4,000. The stipends are issued every quarter. Imran Khan ensured that the program mainly helps girls get an education, aiming to combat negligence shown towards female education. Stipends are given through a first-of-its-kind digital Taleemi Wazaif App which was launched in January 2022. Read more
Ehsaas Ba-Himmat Buzurg: Launched by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Punjab Government under Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, the program provides financial support to elderly people in Pakistan above 65 years of age who lack any source of income or pension and face challenges. Prime Minister Imran Khan advised Buzdar to launch a program for elderly persons who have reached an advanced age and struggle to meet their basic needs. With a regular source of income, they find it easier to afford important items like food, shelter, and healthcare. Through this program, they receive financial assistance of a monthly pay of Rs. 2,000. Read more
Ehsaas Interest Free Loans (IFL): This initiative was launched by Imran Khan’s government in July 2019, making it one of the first programs to be launched under the umbrella of the Ehsaas programme. Any Pakistani aged between 18-60 years belonging to 123 districts is eligible for applying for Interest Free Loans. After its launch in 2019 it was rolled out in over 100 districts, and 80,000 interest free loans were disbursed every month. The range of the interest free loans was Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 75,000. As many as 3.8 million interest free loans were meant to be provided for 4 years. The program was a major component of the National Poverty Graduation Initiative and was run in collaboration with the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund. To-date, 1.8 million loans worth Rs. 64.5 billion have been disbursed (50% women), positively impacting 11.7 million people. By targeting families with a lower Poverty Scorecard, the program aims to improve citizens lives. Read more
Ehsaas Saving Wallets (ESWs): A sub-program under Ehsaas Kafaalat for women, the program was initiated by Prime Minister Imran Khan on May 25, 2021. It primarily aims to help women struggling financially especially destitute women. With a target of 7 million beneficiaries, it helps the poorest women save their stipends in Bachat Accounts (savings accounts). It is also linked to Kafaalat’s biometric system and aims for the financial and digital inclusion of underprivileged women. Dr. Sania Nishtar stated “The initiative will help the marginalised people to plan for everything from long-term goals to unexpected emergencies”. Referring to ESWs, Imran Khan said “By paying for emergency expenditures through savings, vulnerable families are also protected from falling further into the poverty trap.” Read more
Other key steps taken by Imran Khan’s government include making the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) part of the newly established Poverty Alleviation and Social Security Division (PASS) to put a greater focus by the Government of Pakistan towards welfare and poverty reduction. Prime Minister Imran Khan also oversaw public welfare programs such as Mera Pakistan, Mera Ghar and a Miyawaki Forest project, both of which have been shut down by Shehbaz Sharif since 2022. The “Ehsaas Petrol Card” was also a proposed project for bikers (users of motorcycles) to provide petrol at a subsidized rate for cheaper costs. Before the program was launched, Imran Khan was removed.
See also:
Prime Minister Khan’s Poverty Alleviation Program Ehsaas Propels Into Another Phase
A Comprehensive Look At The Program Of Ehsaas
References:
THE EHSAAS PROGRAM: EMPOWERING WOMEN AND FIGHTING POVERTY
SUCCESS STORY: PM’S EHSAAS INITIATIVE PROTECTS VULNERABLE AMID PANDEMIC
PM releases policy statement on Ehsas programme for poverty alleviation
Ehsaas Programme: PM Imran to award 50,000 undergraduate scholarships
Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division — Ehsaas Programs List