KP CM okays strategy to strengthen social protection system

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has approved a strategy for implementing the Adaptive Social Protection (APS) Project of the provincial government to move towards transforming the social protection system in the province.

The chief minister gave the nod while chairing a meeting here at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat on Tuesday and authorized the Planning & Development Department to enter into an agreement with the relevant development partner (GIZ) for this purpose.

According to a handout, Additional Chief Secretary Home Muhammad Abid Majeed, Additional Chief Secretary P&D Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah, SMBR Ikramullah Khan, administrative secretaries of the departments concerned, and other officials attended the meeting.

The APS Project, to be implemented with the technical assistance of GIZ, aims to strengthen the social protection system with a special focus on improving linkages among relevant sectors as well as institutionalizing the use of social protection in disaster management. Under this project, an Integrated Social Protection Information System (Data Centre) would be established, thereby ensuring the all-time availability of complete and accurate information about the initiatives, programmes and activities carried out in the field of social welfare sectors.

Similarly, developing a legal framework, governance and coordination mechanisms, and a monitoring and evaluation framework are also among the important features of the project.Apart from this, research would be conducted on studying poverty dynamics and vulnerability assessments for evidence-based planning and implementation, in addition to developing a Disaster Risk Reduction Policy for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a Multi-Hazard & Vulnerability Risk Assessment in the high-risk districts of the province.

Gandpaur emphasized the need to have complete and accurate data on deserving individuals/households from across the province, adding that the ultimate purpose behind this exercise was to make social activities more effective and result-oriented.

“The provincial government spends a huge amount through multiple welfare initiatives, which benefits should reach the deserving ones in the real sense,” he remarked and hoped the ASP Project would prove to be a milestone achievement in this regard. He directed the officials concerned to implement his directives on holding mass wedding ceremonies for poor girls at the divisional headquarters of the province under which the government would provide a grant of Rs 200,000 to each girl for this purpose.