China is a flag bearer of poverty alleviation: SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 17 (Gwadar Pro) – “China is a torchbearer in poverty alleviation and Pakistan needs to follow in footsteps to drag the poor out of the financial quagmire,” a senior aide Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on poverty, Senator Dr. Sania Nishar, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) Imran Khan on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, mentioned China’s historic triumph over the menace of poverty.

Marking the World Poverty Day, Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar, launched ‘National Data Exchange Platform’ (NDEP) for the Ehsaas’ (care) National Socioeconomic Registry 2021which is one of the six main pillars of One Window Ehsaas.

With the Ehsaas National Socioeconomic Registry 2021 survey stands almost complete, NDEP will facilitate data sharing and data access services for all executing agencies stewarded by Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD). Later, this service will also be extended to provinces and other government agencies implementing Ehsaas programs as well.

Dr. Nishtar told journalists that Ehsaas NDEP will be a game-changer in transforming social protection and poverty reduction programs in the country. In the past, there was no way of one government agency knowing what support an individual or a family was getting from another government agency.

“Some families with connections and influence were getting multiple benefits and other more deserving ones were getting none,” she remarked.

The SAPM cited China as an example where the poverty had been defeated with the right policies and implementations.

Nishtar hoped that with Ehsaas NDEP in place, the executing agencies in ecosystem of Ehsaas will be able to see what benefits an individual or a household is getting by simply punching in the computerized national identity number of an individual.

“More importantly, the benefits which each family and individual is receiving from each organization will also be visible to all agencies across Ehsaas programs,” she added.

Dr Nishtar also congratulated the teams working on the national socioeconomic survey and technology. This data integration of Ehsaas survey will also facilitate adoption of the Ehsaas One Window targeting Policy that Prime Minister approved in the last quarter.

“It will ultimately save programme cost, reduce redundancy, optimize beneficiary targeting, and will also enable efficient and effective policy decisions, planning and implementation,” she maintained.

SAPM informed that data sharing will be safeguarded through the Cognitive Application Programming Interface (API) Architecture approach.

“There will be two-way data sharing; agencies with whom data will be shared will also be required to update the registry with their own information. NDEP will also be connected to the databases of other federal agencies enabling real-time beneficiary information validation, such as NADRA (National Database and Registration Authority), Utility Stores Corporation and Mobile Point of Sale system of National Bank,” she elaborated.

Hence, she said, the same data exchange platform will underpin the rollout of the forthcoming Ehsaas targeted commodity subsidies program in collaboration with Utility Stores Corporation and National Bank of Pakistan.