October 13, 2020 - Washington: During the World Bank Group-IMF Annual Meeting, SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar participated as a panellist in an event, ‘Protecting South Asia’s Poor and Vulnerable Against COVID-19 and Beyond’. The South Asian event focused on the social protection programs as a cornerstone of relief and longer-term recovery. This virtual event was a direct contribution to the central theme of the Annual Meetings of Supporting a Resilient Recovery: building resilience, improving inclusion, promoting economic growth, and sustaining businesses and jobs. At the high-level panel, Dr. Nishtar was joined by Special Economic Advisor to the PM of Nepal, Executive Director of BRAC Bangladesh, Professor of Cornell University and Indian Minister for Textiles and Minister for Women and Child Development. Sharing the scale and ambition of Ehsaas in the context of COVID-19, Dr. Nishtar highlighted the new Ehsaas post COVID-19 strategy, fast-tracked live news socio-economic registry to make it shock responsive, and acceleration of programs to address the needs of the vulnerable, particularly those in the informal sector.