NEW YORK: Co-chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Microsoft Chairman, Bill Gates on Friday hailed Prime Minister Imran Khan for showing leadership in developing a new anti-poverty strategy under ‘Ehsaas Programme’.

Pakistan and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in support of the Ehsaas initiative to alleviate poverty in Pakistan for which the charity organization will provide 200 million dollars.

In a tweet, Gates said, “Ending poverty and achieving the SDGs requires a whole-of-government approach. Imran Khan and Sania Nishtar have shown leadership in developing a new anti-poverty strategy.”

PM Imran, Dr Nishtar and top officials of the Gates Foundation participated in a bilateral meeting on the future of Ehsaas Programme, a collaboration to put funding, technical assistance, and the help of global experts toward improving health, nutrition and financial inclusion within Pakistan.

The 'Ehsaas Programme' aims to provide effective safety nets through 134 new poverty-focused policy actions and programs.

PM Imran during the meeting said this was “the biggest anti-poverty project ever launched in the country and it has been planned with a great deal of attention to detail. I’m pleased that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will assist with a range of activities including accelerating stunting reduction programs, supporting financial inclusion initiatives and investing in public health systems to improve health and reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality.”

The prime minister also expressed full commitment to put measures in place to end polio once and for all, as well as make progress on the micro-payment gateway and financial inclusion. The ‘One Woman One Bank Account’ programme, which comes under Ehsaas Programme, was also discussed in relation to how it can accelerate both financial inclusion and women’s empowerment.

This new collaboration continues the Gates Foundation's more than decade-long work in Pakistan. Programs have covered a range of shared development priorities, including polio eradication, financial inclusion, routine immunisation and maternal, neo-natal and child health. Throughout that time, polio – a disease that stands on the brink of eradication across the world – has remained the top priority. The foundation plans to spend about $200 million in Pakistan in 2020.