The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced an additional $330 million in funding to strengthen Pakistan’s social protection programme, aiming to assist approximately 9.3 million people across the country. The announcement was featured in the ADB’s Annual Development Report 2024.
The financial aid will support conditional cash transfers that encourage school attendance among children and adolescents, while also improving healthcare access for women, girls, and children, especially in disaster-hit areas. The programme is designed to tackle long-standing social challenges by enhancing access to essential services.
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A key focus of the initiative is to ensure food security in vulnerable communities through improved access to nutritious food. The ADB emphasized that this support is part of broader efforts to promote inclusive development and reduce inequality.
The report also noted that countries in Central and West Asia, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Kyrgyzstan, face ongoing issues such as poverty and underdeveloped social welfare systems. The new funding is seen as a critical step in addressing these disparities and promoting long-term social equity.
