June 2, 2020 -Islamabad: The Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) organized a webinar themed, “Casting Wider Safety Nets to Reach Asia’s Most Vulnerable: Real-time Policy Recommendations during the Covid-19 Pandemic” in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Dr. Sania Nishtar, Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation joined the webinar as a keynote speaker. Presenting real-time lessons of Ehsaas Emergency Cash program that is government of Pakistan’s safety net response amid COVID-19 shutdown, Dr. Nishtar said, “In two months, the program has distributed more than Rs.115 billion in cash to 9.5 million families, representing the most extensive social protection intervention in the history of the country. The program’s success is driven by its comprehensive approach to implementation based on leveraging existing Ehsaas systems and strengthening social safety nets, which helped to ensure that vulnerable households were provided with immediate cash support.” The webinar was joined by government officials from various countries who were directly engaged in the design and implementation of Covid-19 fiscal safety net responses as well as development practitioners, researchers, and innovators to share their ideas about reaching the most vulnerable.