Sindh govt Announces to give Rs 3,000 per month to children

KARACHI: The Sindh government has decided to give a monthly stipend of Rs 3,000 to children from birth to five years, with special focus on rural areas.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, while chairing the third board meeting of the Sindh Social Protection Authority (SSPA), approved several major measures to expand the scope of social protection, improve the welfare of mothers and children, and provide financial support to rural women.

The meeting approved a new Early Childhood Development (ECD) program for 885,000 children under the Social Protection Program, seasonal cash assistance for women involved in the agricultural sector, and significant improvements in the Mamata Maternal Health Cash Transfer Program, which is being run under the Social Protection Delivery System (SSPDSS) in Sindh.

The board reviewed the progress of the Mamata project, which is currently underway in 22 districts. The project has a budget of Rs 56 billion and is benefiting over 1 million registered beneficiaries. To reduce the financial burden on poor families and make the assistance more reliable, the board approved a hybrid predictable payment model (PPM), under which mothers will be given money as per a fixed schedule, even if the medical examination is slightly delayed.

In another pro-poor initiative, the board approved full cash payment for a mother’s pregnancy or her youngest child, while 75 percent of the conditional cash assistance for the eldest child below two years of age, so that no vulnerable child is left out.

The chief minister also approved two new projects to eradicate poverty and strengthen human development. The Rs 14 billion ECD project, which is being launched in collaboration with the German agency KfW, will support children from birth to five years. Under the program, eligible guardians will be given Rs 3,000 every quarter for child development monitoring, nutritional counseling and educational readiness.

The board also approved the Women Agricultural Workers Program, under which rural women agricultural workers will be given monthly cash assistance during two to four months of the year, when employment is low. The project aims to protect women workers from seasonal unemployment, debt pressure and malnutrition.

To further expand the Mamata program, the board approved a feasibility study in collaboration with the Gates Foundation to extend the program to the backward urban union councils and high-risk areas of Karachi and Hyderabad. The board also approved the inclusion of medical centers managed by the health department under the expansion plan in seven new districts, while district and tehsil headquarters hospitals will be made the central centers of the Mamata desk.

For better monitoring and transparency, the board also approved the formation of special committees related to audit, human resources, legal affairs and research, while a budget of Rs 2.29 billion for the financial year 2026-27 was also approved.

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that the provincial government is committed to establishing a reliable and sustainable support system for the poorest families in Sindh. He said that our goal is to establish a strong and reliable protection system that empowers the most vulnerable women and children of Sindh. By combining health, nutrition and financial stability, we are investing in the future of our province.

Murad Ali Shah added that social protection is not just a welfare responsibility but a human investment. He said that protecting mothers, supporting young children, and supporting rural women in difficult situations is actually tantamount to strengthening families and laying the foundation for a healthy and capable Sindh.