Inaugurated by the ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan, the “Ehsaas Koi Bhooka Na Soye” was one of his most popular moves during his term as the Prime Minister. The program was offering food to approximately 80,000 needy in 29 different cities. Under the initiative, free cooked meals are distributed among the needy, particularly laborers, daily-wage earners, women, and children. However, reports have emerged that Shahbaz Sharif, on his third day of office as the Prime Minister, has ordered to close down the program.
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At its inauguration, the program promised to deliver food to almost 60 million people. Under the initiative, every city had four food vans which covered a major demographic, especially the working class. The step was a new policy initiative of the Federal Government to eliminate hunger in the country. It was an extension of the Ehsaas Langar Policy, which was aimed at distributing cooked meals at designated delivery points to the people in need, especially those at risk of or experiencing hunger. The program was launched under the umbrella of another initiative, “Ehsaas poverty alleviation.” The former Prime Minister also engaged a lot of private entities to support the cause. Saylani Welfare Trust was one of the non-governmental organizations which joined in. Last year, Daraz also collected 10 million rupees in donations for this program.
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To make ‘Ehsaas Koi Bhuka Na Soye’ more financially stable, the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division had constituted a “Donor Coordination Group” that served as an Ehsaas channel to engage with the private sector. Pledges and commitments by the private sector, international agencies, philanthropists, civil society and individuals were overseen by the coordination group.
Earlier, reports emerged that the Sehat Card had been discontinued in major cities, and hospitals were refusing to give indoor treatment to patients who had come to avail their services under the Sehat Card. Following the reports, State Life Insurance issued a letter to more than 1,000 hospitals to continue the treatment of patients under the Sehat card. State life ensured all the hospitals and addressed their reservations.
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Under the health care, an aid of only one million would be given to the families per year, and this aid only covers for indoor operations – all types of major ailments, treatment of chronic diseases – and not for outdoor treatments which do not require the patients to be admitted into the hospital. This is a major development in a country in which approximately 40 percent of the population is below the poverty line, meaning that more than one-third of the population earns less than $3.2 per day.