The Gates Foundation is targeting around 450,000 children and 170,000 women in Pakistan this year through a program covering cash assistance, nutrition, livelihoods and access to public services.
The initiative was discussed during a meeting between Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and a Gates Foundation delegation headed by Dr. Anita Zaidi, President of the Gender Equality Division.
The foundation told the finance minister that its work in Pakistan is focused on areas including child health, maternal health, nutrition, human capital and women’s economic participation.
A program in South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa combines cash transfers with nutrition support, livelihoods training and access to citizen facilitation centers for women. The program is expected to cover around 170,000 women and 450,000 children during the year.
The delegation also discussed nationwide nutrition efforts being carried out through UNICEF’s Livelihood 2.0 facility. The initiative is aimed at improving the availability of nutrition commodities and tackling childhood stunting.
Maternal healthcare was another key area of discussion. Zaidi briefed the minister on efforts to use artificial intelligence to improve health outcomes, including work by the LUMS AI Hub with provincial governments to develop personalized solutions for women and families during pregnancy and childbirth.
The foundation is also exploring AI-based health tools that can operate with limited internet connectivity and on basic Android phones. These solutions can also support local languages.
Population growth and its effects on health, poverty, nutrition and girls’ education were also discussed.
Aurangzeb highlighted the work of the National Population Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, and stressed the importance of coordination between federal and provincial governments, women’s education, greater female workforce participation and birth spacing.
The finance minister also briefed the delegation on economic reforms, including privatization, government rightsizing, expenditure controls and the use of digital technology to improve public-sector efficiency.
He said the government is working to expand financing for small and medium-sized enterprises, agriculture and other underserved sectors through digital financial channels, better data sharing and cash-flow-based lending.
The Gates Foundation expressed interest in supporting SME financing by helping improve digital records, information flows and credit assessment based on business cash flows.
The meeting also covered agriculture, the digital economy and private-sector investment. Aurangzeb discussed efforts to develop Pakistan’s private equity market and attract more long-term domestic and foreign capital.
Both sides agreed to continue cooperation in human capital, healthcare, financial inclusion and digital innovation.
