PESHAWAR: Chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Senator Rubina Khalid on Thursday inaugurated a state-of-the-art Benazir Nashonuma Centre at Molvi Jee Hospital in Hashtnagri here and announced an increase in quarterly cash assistance from Rs13,500 to Rs14,500.

“The much-needed revised assistance will benefit approximately 10 million registered beneficiaries across the country, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” she said during the visit.

Ms Khalid visited various sections of the centre, examined health facilities and met mothers of stunted children to learn about their concerns.

She said that nearly 40 per cent of children under the age of five in the country suffered from stunting and were underweight due to socioeconomic imbalances and poverty.

Chairperson inaugurates Benazir Nashonuma Centre

“To combat this monster challenge, the Benazir Nashonuma Programme has been launched with a focus on the critical first 1,000 days of a child’s life,” she said.

The BISP chairperson said around 4.3 million beneficiaries, including 1.2 million registered women and children, had so far been enrolled under the Benazir Naushnoma Programme, which was being implemented through 542 Nashonuma Facilitation Centres across the country with assistance of the World Food Program and health departments.

She directed BISP authorities to enhance awareness among medical professionals, particularly pediatricians and gynaecologists, to ensure timely referral of stunted children and pregnant women to Benazir Nashonuma Centres for quality treatment.

Ms Khalid also emphasised the need for comprehensive training of lady health workers to effectively address stunting among children and support pregnant and lactating mothers at grassroot levels.

She announced that the government had increased education and Nashonuma stipends by Rs500 each to further facilitate underprivileged registered families.

“Registered children are monitored for two years and provided with free nutritional supplements, while pregnant and lactating women also receive essential support,” she said.

The BISP chairperson also said that a poverty score threshold of 60 had been set for education and nashonuma programmes in Balochistan and that efforts were under way to extend similar benefits to residents of the merged tribal districts.

She said under the BISP education programme, a girl from a beneficiary family recently topped an examination conducted by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Kohat.

Ms Khalid said 160 BISP Nashonuma Centres were currently operational in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including 10 in Peshawar.

Citing findings from a study conducted by the Institute of Global Health and Development at the Aga Khan University, she said the prevalence of stunting at six months of age among beneficiaries had come down to 20 per cent and was 6.2 percentage points lower among children under two years compared to non-beneficiaries.

The BISP chairperson said that a digital wallet system had been introduced to ensure transparent disbursement of financial assistance.

She said free SIM cards were being provided to registered beneficiaries at BISP offices and camp centres.

“The system is expected to become fully operational by March this year,” she said.

Ms Khalid said the digital wallet initiative was launched in line with the vision of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to ensure swift and transparent payment of stipends.

She said under the interoperability programme, beneficiaries would be able to withdraw their stipends from banks across the country.

The BISP chairperson urged beneficiaries to register complaints in case of any irregularities to enable prompt action against those responsible.

Paying tribute to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, she declared her a courageous leader, who, she said, dedicated her life to the people of Pakistan and embraced martyrdom for their rights.

“Benazir Bhutto fought bravely for women’s empowerment,” she said, urging beneficiaries to draw inspiration from her struggle for democracy and socio-economic uplift of the underprivileged people.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2026