MOU inked with WFP for countrywide expansion of Ehsaas Nashonuma programme

ISLAMABAD: Ehsaas and World Food Programme (WFP) inked a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday to expand the Ehsaas Nashonuma programme from 15 districts to all tehsils of Pakistan.

WFP Country Director Chris Kaye and Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD) Secretary Ismat Tahira signed the MoU. WFP Executive Director (ED) David Beasley and Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Poverty Alleviation Senator Dr Sania Nishtar were present on the occasion as well.

WFP Country Director David Beasley commended the vision and commitment of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan to address the issue of stunting in children across Pakistan. He expressed that other countries can also learn from it and felicitated the premier on the success of the Ehsaas Nashonuma programme.

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Launched by PM Imran Khan in August 2020, Ehsaas Nashonuma programme delivers conditional cash transfers to vulnerable pregnant women, mothers and children up to two years of age.

The candidates get cash stipends, specialised nutritious food, immunisations, antenatal and postnatal checkups, and health-awareness sessions. Notably, a girl child gets a higher stipend amount compared to a boy child.

Ehsaas Nashonuma primarily aims to improve nutrition and health in the first thousand days of life considered as the most critical phase in physical and mental development.

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“Ehsaas Nashonuma is undoubtedly playing a transformative role to tackle stunting in children and transforming their lives as according to the estimates”, David Beasley said and noted that 40 of 100 children in Pakistan are stunted.

SAPM Dr Sania termed the partnership remarkable and thanked WFP’s leadership and country team for their assistance in designing, rolling out, and expanding of nourishment programme.

She recalled that Prime Minister Imran Khan had highlighted the key issue of stunting in his inaugural address to the nation while he is committed to its redressal as well.

Dr Sania said the Ehsaas Nashonuma programme has been rolled out for the same reason.

Further, WFP Country Director Chris Kaye assured full support for the national scaling of the programme. He said 50 Ehsaas Nashonuma Centres are already operational at tehsil levels in the 15 most-stunted districts of Pakistan.

The official hoped that the centres will play an important role in building human capital.