Education, health: Need to devolve more programmes to provinces: BISP

KARACHI: BISP Chairperson Senator Rubina Khalid emphasised the need to devolve education and health-related programmes to the provinces to strengthen the federation.

During her visit to the Sindh Social Protection Authority of Sindh Social Protection department, here on Wednesday, the Chairperson of Benazir Income Support Programme was warmly received by Sindh Minister for Social Protection Saeed Ghani.

Secretary of the Social Protection department, Khadim Hussain Channa was also present.

Chief Executive Officer of SSPA, Irshad Sodhar gave a detailed briefing.

The BISP chairperson stated that the core BISP support programme should remain with the federal level, whereas health and education programmes should be devolved to provinces for more efficient implementation.

She was accompanied by a delegation including Asim Aizaz, Director General NSER, BISP, and Adnan ul Hassan, Director General BISP Sindh.

She expressed BISP’s interest in establishing a data integration arrangement with Sindh, noting: “We believe the federation will be strengthened by working together with provinces in social protection programmes.”

Welcoming the Chairperson, Sindh Minister Saeed Ghani highlighted the ongoing deliberations with BISP for broader collaboration and data-sharing agreements.

He noted that such cooperation would benefit millions of Sindh’s beneficiaries by streamlining access to social support programmes.

“We are also coordinating with other Sindh government departments to build a central data repository,” he added.

During the briefing, Asim Aizaz, DG NSER BISP, shared that Sindh has approximately 9.8 million households, of which 9.1 million are registered in the BISP registry. Currently, 2.65 million households receive unconditional cash support under the Benazir Kafalat Programme, he added.

Irshad Sodhar, CEO of SSPA, informed the meeting about existing data-sharing protocols with BISP and Nadra, which facilitate enrollment under the Mamta Programme. He briefed that 910,000 mothers have been registered across 15 intervention districts, with more than 4 million hospital check-ups completed under the initiative.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026