Muhammad Faisal Kaleem

The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) achieved a milestone by supporting over 22 million people in 2024-25 through its three financial assistance programs. According to the documents available with Wealth Pakistan, the PPAF provided 22.22 million individuals with financial assistance through Benazir Kafaalat Program (BKP), Benazir Nashunuma Program (BNP), and Benazir Taleemi Wazaif Program (BTWP).

The number of enrolled beneficiaries is significantly higher than the previous years. Moreover, the PPAF has set a target of enrolling and providing financial assistance to more than 2 million people in the ongoing financial year 2025-26. A total of 10.07 million people got financial assistance under the Benazir Kafaalat Program, 2.48 million under the Benazir Nashunuma Program, and 9.67 million children got educational stipend under Benazir Taleemi Wazaif Program.

The fundamental purpose of these programs is to address poverty, malnutrition, and illiteracy. The Benazir Nashunuma Program aims to tackle malnutrition by providing specialized food, health education, and financial support to pregnant and lactating women as well as children under two. The Benazir Kafaalat Program provides unconditional cash transfers to the poorest women by ensuring financial inclusion through bank accounts and promoting women’s empowerment.

Similarly, the Benazir Taleemi Wazaif Program supports children from low-income families by offering conditional cash stipends linked with school attendance, helping to reduce dropout rates and encourage education. The region-wise data of the Benazir Kafaalat Program shows that overall, 10.07 million individuals were registered for financial support, including 0.12 million people from Punjab, 0.5 million from Sindh, 0.11 million from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 0.009 million from Balochistan, 1.99 million from ICT, and 4.68 million people from Gilgit Baltistan (GB).

Under the Benazir Nashunuma Program, 2,248,884 pregnant and lactating women and children have been provided with monetary aid for nutrition, food and health education. The program enrolled 32,996 individuals from AJK, 311,736 in Balochistan, 44,197 from GB, 2,107 from ICT, 655,888 from KP, 429,132 from Punjab, and 772,828 from Sindh. Under Benazir Taleemi Wazaif Program, the government supported 9,673,222 children with poor economic background. The program covered 15,112 children from ICT, 154,323 from AJK, 123,364 from GB, 2,042,949 from KP, 2,531,226 from Sindh, 4,365,451 from Punjab, and 440,797 students from Balochistan.

The PPAF was established in 1997 as an autonomous not-for-profit company under Section 42 of the Companies Ordinance 1984. It serves as the country’s lead apex institution for community-driven development, with a mission to contribute to poverty reduction and promote sustainable development across the country. The Fund has addressed multidimensional poverty by providing economic productive assets, skill enhancement, access to finance, and business support to ultra-poor and vulnerable poor households.

Credit: INP-WealthPk