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ISLAMABAD, Nov 27 (APP):Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, Syed Imran Ahmad Shah Thursday announced to launch a new Poverty Graduation and Economic Prosperity (PGEP) programme, a $134.2 million initiative designed to expand proven poverty graduation interventions across the country and support extremely poor and flood-affected households.
Speaking at a high-level seminar titled “Poverty Graduation: Pathways to Sustainable Livelihoods,” the minister described PGEP as the next major step in Pakistan’s poverty alleviation strategy, noting that the programme will promote long-term, sustainable livelihoods by providing productive assets, skills training, market linkages and interest-free finance to vulnerable families.
The minister said the new programme builds directly on the success of the National Poverty Graduation Programme (NPGP), which he described as one of the most successful public-sector poverty graduation efforts in Pakistan. Implemented from 2017 to 2025 with financial and technical support from IFAD, NPGP provided integrated assistance across 21 districts and achieved what the Minister called truly transformative results.
He shared that the programme lifted 370,567 households out of poverty, demonstrating the effectiveness of a community-driven development model focused on women’s participation, enterprise development and local economic strengthening.
According to the figures presented, NPGP supported 165,807 households with productive assets and enterprise training and disbursed 304,324 interest-free loans to 204,760 households.
Independent assessments show that about 80 percent of supported households were moved out of extreme poverty and 56 percent of beneficiaries graduated from the eligibility criteria of the Benazir Income Support Programme.
The programme also created 179,159 jobs, while women’s economic empowerment indicators improved by 48 percent. More than 70,000 community institutions were formed, enabling households to save, access small loans, and work collectively to improve income opportunities.
Imran Shah said that PGEP will scale this community-centred model nationwide and will particularly focus on households affected by repeated climate shocks, food insecurity, landlessness and unemployment. He added that the programme will closely coordinate with BISP, PBM, PPAF, TVO and other implementing partners to ensure that vulnerable families receive comprehensive support and progress from cash assistance to sustainable income generation. Referring to the government’s broader commitment to social protection, the Minister noted that the BISP budget has been increased to Rs 716 billion for FY 2025–26, up from Rs 598 billion previously, allowing support to reach more than 10 million deserving households.
IFAD Country Director Ms. Fernanda Thomaz Da Rocha praised the achievements of NPGP, calling it one of the most successful IFAD-supported graduation programmes globally and reaffirmed IFAD’s long-term commitment to Pakistan.
Secretary MoPASS, Mr. Navid Ahmed Shaikh, said the programme demonstrated that poverty graduation is achievable when interventions focus on women, communities and enterprise development rather than temporary relief measures.
In his concluding remarks, the minister thanked international partners, implementing agencies and community institutions for their role in the programme’s success.
He said the launch of PGEP signals the government’s determination to turn evidence into large-scale action so that more families can break free from poverty and build lives of dignity. “With PGEP, we are moving Pakistan from charity to empowerment and building a more resilient and prosperous future for our people,” he said.