Plug system gaps before expanding BISP Safety Net system, says Dr Sania Nishtar

Islamabad: With a priority of strengthening Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) as a ‘Safety Net,’ the new Chairperson of Benazir Income Support Programme Dr Sania Nishtar plans to move ahead with the process of putting organisational governance in order and plugging critical systems gaps before expanding the existing Safety Net system.

Dr Sania, an eminent health expert, author and activist of international fame, was appointed as chairperson of the largest social safety net of the country on October 30 this year. In her first statement shared with ‘The News’, she identifies her priority areas of work in order to convert BISP into a modern, dynamic and impartial social safety net.

“It has been over a month since I accepted the Government of Pakistan’s invitation to chair the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), Pakistan’s largest safety net institution, which currently runs a Rs125 billion income-support program for 5.7 million poor women with an envisaged impact for over 37 million individuals, nationally.”

She believes that inviting an apolitical person to lead the organisation is evidence of the government’s intentions to depoliticize this institution. “While I believe in the importance of the institution and appreciate the contributions of the management and many stakeholders, I am also conscious of the imperative of reform and have, therefore, taken careful stock of the situation.”

Sania’s immediate focus would be to prioritize integrity of systems for an effective safety net. “My immediate priority is to strengthen BISP as a Safety Net. In this regard, I plan to move ahead on two fronts quickly—before 2018 ends. First, putting organizational governance in order by making sure the new board is effectively and meaningfully engaged; and secondly, initiating processes to plug critical systems gaps.”

She says that BISP has many legacy issues, which successive managements have strived to address. “Several gaps have been plugged, but many critical gaps remain to be closed. BISP’s payment mechanism needs a redesign. There is need to strengthen fiduciary systems, financial management and procurement systems, internal controls, and capacity and systems for planning. My priority is to institutionalise risk management and assurance. I am deeply conscious that those that benefit from the program are voiceless, which is why beneficiary empowerment and respect is also high on the list of priorities.” In this regard, the new chairperson plans to work with the board and management to reform BISP’s systems pillars.

Sania believes that once critical gaps are plugged, the existing safety net system can be expanded, and the adequacy of the benefits can be increased as per government policy, especially with regard to complementary investments for human capital development (conditional cash transfers for nutrition, health, and education) and graduation programs. “In addition, demand-side safety net instruments can be introduced for protection against crises and catastrophic shocks—a salient safety net feature.”

He vision for future is to move BISP from Safety Net to Universal Social Protection. “I envision BISP as a ‘Dynamic and Digital Social Protection Ecosystem for the Future.’ “In such an ecosystem, it would be possible to develop targeted policy interventions, and deliver precise means tested benefits to the poor and vulnerable by employing big data analytics and by tracking real-time information about the evolution of the beneficiary status, to make social protection adaptive.

This will enable time-bound support for income stabilization and protection against catastrophic shocks on the one hand, and the creation of economic opportunities to decrease welfare-dependency, through relevant partnerships, on the other.”

In addition, she says that this would also move Pakistan closer to delivering on it’s global commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 1.3, which entails “developing nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all.”