Sania Nishtar briefs Diplomatic Corps on “Declaration on Establishing a Global Social Protection Knowledge Platform”

ISLAMABAD, Jan 10 (SABAH): Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection, briefed the Heads of Diplomatic Missions in Islamabad at the Foreign Office on Monday on the “Declaration on Establishing a Global Social Protection Knowledge Platform.” The Declaration is being steered by Pakistan in New York, in collaboration with a “Group of Friends on Social Protection” including Costa Rica, Nigeria and Turkey, supported by the World Bank.

Dr. Sania Nishtar introduced the Declaration and apprised participants of its conceptualization as well as the operationalization of the Global Social Protection Knowledge Platform. Dr. Nishtar underscored that the importance of social protection had been vividly pronounced during the COVID-19pandemic. She added that countries with robust social protection systems including Pakistan were able to contain the fallout of the pandemic better than other nations. In order to benefit from each other’s experiences and share best practices, there was a need to fill the knowledge gap in the global social protection landscape.

Earlier, in his introductory remarks, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood highlighted the objectives of the briefing, noting that there was a greater realization today of the need to increase investments in social protection systems to safeguard people against the shockwaves of the pandemic and future crises. He called on the Heads of Missions to apprise their respective governments to support this global knowledge-sharing initiative.

The participants were also informed that Ehsaas, Pakistan’s social protection programme, has organised a day-long event at the Dubai Expo Pakistan Pavilion on 16 January 2022 to promote the Declaration.

It is envisaged that the Global Social Protection Knowledge Platform will provide a unique opportunity for government-to-government learning and collaboration that will contribute towards progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.