Ehsaas Programme

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Ehsaas Programme (Urdu: احساس پروگرام lit. 'Compassion') was a social safety net and poverty alleviation programme launched by the Government of Pakistan in 2019.^[1] Imran Khan, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, called it a key initiative towards a welfare state that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party had promised to the people of Pakistan in their election manifesto.^[2] It is aimed at uplifting the backward class, reducing inequality, investing in the masses, and lifting-off the lagging districts in the country.^[3]

A separate ministry was established under the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division, which is headed by the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister serving as chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme.^[4] As of 2021, the Ehsaas Programme has two major pillars: Ehsaas Emergency Cash (introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic), and Ehsaas Kafalat. the latter programme expanded its coverage from 7 million people to 10 million people in 2021.^[5]

The Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme was Khan's flagship welfare policy during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan; it received praise from the World Bank, which listed it amongst the top global social protection measures and said that it ranked highly in terms of actual coverage rates compared to planned coverage rates.^[6] During the COVID-19 pandemic, the welfare programme covered millions of lower-income Pakistani families with monthly stipends handed out to 13.2 million people.^[7]