Good practice

Programa de Apoyo al Ingreso Benazir (BISP) — Transferencias monetarias a mujeres jefas de hogar

Pakistan · Islamabad · See the Pakistan profile

El BISP de Pakistán paga prestaciones trimestrales a más de 6,1 millones de mujeres jefas de hogar en 149 distritos. La evaluación de Oxford Policy Management (2010–2017) encontró que la pobreza familiar cayó 7 pp; varios estudios confirman mejoras en movilidad, autonomía de decisión y participación política de las beneficiarias.

6.1 million+

Beneficiarias mujeres cabeza de hogar

149

Distritos cubiertos

−7pp

Reducción de la pobreza (2010–2017)

Details

Maturity: Established
Promoter: Government of Pakistan – BISP Secretariat
Period: 2008–present
Keywords: social protection, poverty reduction, cash transfer, economic empowerment

Context

El Programa de Apoyo al Ingreso Benazir (BISP) de Pakistán paga ayudas trimestrales a más de 6,1 millones de mujeres cabeza de hogar en 149 distritos.

Results

La evaluación de Oxford Policy Management (2010-2017) concluyó que la pobreza cayó 7 puntos porcentuales, y varios estudios confirman mejoras en la movilidad de las mujeres, su autonomía de decisión y su participación política.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-06-23
Government of Pakistan – BISP Secretariat — accessed 2026-06-23
Oxford Policy Management — BISP impact evaluation — accessed 2026-06-23
socialprotection.org — Empowering women through BISP — accessed 2026-06-23

Quality score: 96/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Quasi-experimental

Top 4% in this catalogue (719 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Transferability / replicability2/3

BISP’s biometric female-targeted payment architecture has been studied by social protection programmes in Bangladesh, Jordan and Egypt; the model has influenced South Asian and Middle Eastern safety net designs.

Impact on gender equality1/1

OPM’s nationally representative evaluation found household poverty fell 7 percentage points over five years; independent studies confirm improved women’s mobility, decision-making autonomy and voting participation.

Effectiveness1/1

The programme has maintained over 5 million active female beneficiaries since 2012 and sustained measurable poverty reduction across successive governments, meeting its stated objectives.

Efficiency1/1

Biometric identification reduced leakage and proxy collection; unconditional quarterly transfers minimise conditionality enforcement overhead while achieving broad coverage at scale.

Evaluated outcomes1/1

OPM conducted an independent mixed-methods evaluation (2010–2017) based on a nationally representative household survey of over 9,000 households across 149 districts of Pakistan.

Sustainability1/1

Institutionalised as Pakistan’s primary social safety net since 2008 and maintained under successive governments, demonstrating resilience across at least three political transitions.

Achievement / evidence1/1

Poverty fell 7 percentage points and women’s mobility, autonomy and political participation improved measurably in rural beneficiary populations across the evaluation period.

Gender-mainstreaming embedding1/1

Payments are directed exclusively to the female head of household by design, making gender equity a structural feature of programme architecture from inception.

Curator validation1/1

OPM independent evaluation with nationally representative survey of 9,000+ households, BISP’s scale and longevity since 2008, and multiple peer-reviewed studies support inclusion.

Cite this

Evidoria. Programa de Apoyo al Ingreso Benazir (BISP) — Transferencias monetarias a mujeres jefas de hogar. Persistent ID: ceaa25eb-091a-4ee0-b825-a6eef6469e69.

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