Poverty alleviation: Gates Foundation to spend about $200m in Pakistan

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NEW YORK: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (B&MGF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Pakistan government for its Ehsaas initiative on poverty alleviation, as the foundation plans to spend about $200 million in the country in 2020.Prime Minister Imran Khan and Bill Gates, Co-chair of the B&MGF, witnessed the signing ceremony as Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar and President of Global Development at B&MGF Dr Chris Elias inked the MoU in New York on the sidelines of 74th session of UN General Assembly late Wednesday.The B&MGF will assist the Pakistan government with a range of activities including accelerating stunting reduction programmes, supporting financial inclusion initiatives and investing in public health systems to improve health and reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality.Earlier, the meeting between Prime Minister Khan with Gates and Elias focused on Ehsaas initiative and finding ways of its collaboration with the B&MGF on funding, technical assistance, and help of global experts in improving health, nutrition and financial inclusion in Pakistan.The Prime Minister said Ehsaas, aimed at providing effective safety nets through 134 new poverty-focused policy actions and programmes, was the largest anti-poverty project ever launched in the country.He said since assuming office, he had set out an ambitious plan to alleviate poverty and improve health and education for the most vulnerable people. He mentioned that Ehsaas was aimed at radically improving Pakistan’s progress towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Global Goals for its more than 210 million people.Khan expressed the commitment to put measures in place to end polio once and for all, as well as making progress on the micro-payment gateway and financial inclusion.Besides, the “One Woman One Bank Account” programme, which comes under Ehsaas, was also discussed in relation to how it could accelerate both financial inclusion and women empowerment.Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Dr Maleeha Lodhi, Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood also attended the meeting.The new collaboration of the government with the B&MGF is in continuation of the foundation’s more than decade-long work in Pakistan. The earlier programmes have covered a range of shared development priorities including polio eradication, financial inclusion, routine immunization and maternal, neo-natal and child health.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/com/cwEr/~4/iuIIXXmJvrw

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