ISLAMABAD: The federal government has appointed health expert Dr Sania Nishtar as the chairperson of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

The position which was occupied by Farzana Raja during the tenure of Pakistan Peoples Party and by Marvi Memon during Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz’s tenure has been filled by a neutral figure for the first time.

According to a statement issued on Tuesday, the government had invited Dr Nishtar to chair the BISP board and the appointment was made after getting her acceptance.

Dr Nishtar is a civil society leader and former cabinet minister. She is also a widely published scholar in the field of public healthcare systems and reform.

The statement claimed that poverty alleviation and provision of social protection to marginalised groups, especially in the less developed areas of the country, was amongst the highest priorities of the government.

It is worth mentioning that BISP has recently outlined its plans for a comprehensive social protection strategy aimed at protecting the poor from economic shocks.

Dr Nishtar currently co-chairs the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) high-level commission on non-communicable diseases. She also chairs the US National Academy of Sciences initiative on the Quality of Healthcare in low and middle-income countries and heads the United Nations International Institute for Global Health’s Advisory Committee.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2018