ISLAMABAD - BISP is one of the leading social safety net (SSN) programmes in the world and Nigeria may benefit from the exemplary experience of BISP.
This was stated by Minister of State and Chairperson BISP, Marvi Memon, at the BISP Secretariat, in her welcome remarks during the opening session of the five-day study visit of the Nigerian Social Protection Team to BISP.
Headed by Andrew David Adejo, a 25-member delegation of Nigeria Social Protection Team, including representatives from World Bank, is on a visit to study the major elements of social protection system of BISP.
During her address, the Chairperson BISP shared her thoughts on the importance of National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER) and its significance for being inclusive and national in character for a successful social safety net programme.
She also highlighted the value of the biometric payment mechanism for safe transfer of money to the beneficiaries and reducing the middleman culture. She added that the graduation strategies, necessary to pull out the beneficiaries from poverty, can be developed in cooperation with other organizations as a social safety net programme focuses on the basic sustenance of the beneficiaries.
In the end, the Chairperson BISP said that the vision of this organization is to give dignity, empowerment and meaning to the lives of beneficiaries.
The primary objective of the visit is to ensure that the Nigerian SSN Program builds on its existing knowledge and practice, based on the experience of BISP. The focus areas of BISP, for learning purposes, during the visit are: targeting, identification and registry of the poor and vulnerable; payment system and procedure; management information system; monitoring and impact evaluation process; and coordination and reporting mechanism.
The Nigerian delegation’s visit to BISP has been arranged by the World Bank Social Protection Task Team in Nigeria to establish an effective and efficient social protection system. It will assist the Nigerian government in setting up and strengthening of the building blocks of the social protection platform in Nigeria.
BISP is an internationally acclaimed programme whose operational practices are of international standards. The successful journey of BISP has attracted various developing countries to follow its systems and mechanisms; Cambodian and Bangladeshi delegations have also visited BISP for the same purpose in recent past.
In this connection, the delegation held a meeting with BISP officials where they were briefed on the policies, mechanisms and initiatives of the organization.