BISP, Nutrition International Pilot Project Reduces Anaemia Among Adolescent Girls

The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and Nutrition International have partnered for a pilot project, “Effectiveness of Adolescent Nutrition Conditional Cash Transfer,” aimed at addressing anaemia among adolescent girls aged 13 to 19

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Sep, 2025) The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and Nutrition International have partnered for a pilot project, “Effectiveness of Adolescent Nutrition Conditional Cash Transfer,” aimed at addressing anaemia among adolescent girls aged 13 to 19.

The 2023–25 pilot project has reached more than 100,000 adolescent girls with Weekly Iron Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFAS), complemented by nutrition education and quarterly conditional cash transfers (CCTs) to their parents.

Implemented in six districts, the project achieved high coverage, with 99 percent of adolescent girls receiving iron tablets and over 90 percent regularly consuming them.

This contributed to improved iron levels and a 34 percent reduction in mild to moderate anaemia in the intervention areas.

Participation in nutrition education sessions also increased significantly—from 60 percent to 92 percent among girls and from 37 percent to 69 percent among mothers.

The percentage of girls able to recognize signs and symptoms of anaemia rose from 36 percent to 73 percent, while those who could name iron-rich foods increased from 15 percent to 59 percent.

At a dissemination event organized by Nutrition International in collaboration with BISP, partners shared the project’s successes, lessons learned, and the feasibility of scaling it up nationally, while highlighting its contribution to improved adolescent nutrition and anaemia reduction.

Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, Syed Mustafa Kamal, addressing the event, said, “Pakistan’s real health reform begins with prevention, not just building more hospitals. By addressing malnutrition, particularly adolescent nutrition, and creating an environment that supports healthier choices, we can ensure mothers are healthier, children thrive, and our nation moves towards a stronger, more resilient future.

The Ministry of Health is committed to leaving no stone unturned in this effort.”

Adolescence, he noted, is a critical stage of the human life cycle, both physically and psychosocially. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, adolescents have long remained a neglected target group for health and nutrition interventions.

According to the National Nutrition Survey 2018, more than half (54.7 percent) of adolescent girls are anaemic, leading to short-term effects such as illness, fatigue, lethargy, and poor concentration, as well as long-term impacts including impaired cognitive development and reduced work capacity. These consequences undermine both academic achievement and human capital development.

The project, designed specifically to address the anaemia burden, was implemented with close collaboration from the World food Programme (WFP) across six districts in Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu & Kashmir.

It leveraged BISP’s Benazir Nashonuma Programme (BNP) through facilitation centers established at government hospitals—mainly DHQs and THQs—to reach the most vulnerable adolescent girls. It specifically targeted daughters of BNP beneficiaries, with particular focus on out-of-school girls.

The model combined provision of WIFAS, nutrition education, and conditional cash transfers. Parents received cash transfers on the condition that their daughters regularly consumed WIFAS and participated in nutrition education sessions.

The successful completion of this pilot marks an important step toward integrating nutrition into Pakistan’s social protection system. With strong evidence and collaboration, BISP, Nutrition International, and other key partners have committed to scaling up this model to improve the health and nutrition of adolescent girls nationwide.