PESHAWAR: A social protection Integrated Beneficiary Registry (IBR) was launched here on Monday to strengthen coordination and delivery of social protection programmes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
KP Minister for Labour Faisal Khan Tarakai was the chief guest at the launch event. Participants at the event underscored the role of integrated systems in reducing duplication, improving targeting and enabling more effective, data-driven social protection services across the province, said a press release issued here.
The initiative is led by the Public Policy and Social Protection Reforms Unit within the Planning and Development Department of the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with technical support from the ILO and GIZ, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and European Union (EU), under the Digital Convergence Initiative (DCI).
The IBR will function as a centralized database that consolidates information on individuals and households receiving benefits from multiple social protection programmes.By linking data through a unique citizen identifier, the system will enable authorities to better understand who is receiving which benefits, when and where, supporting improved service delivery and coordination across programmes.
Geir Thomas Tonstol, Country Director of ILO Pakistan, stated that “Integrated beneficiary registries are a critical foundation for modern, effective and inclusive social protection systems. By strengthening coordination across programmes and improving the use of data, the Integrated Beneficiary Registry in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will help ensure resources are used more efficiently and that support reaches those who need it most.”
Faisal Khan Tarakai, Minister for Labour, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, underscored that “By bringing labour-related schemes into a unified provincial framework, the Integrated Beneficiary Registry will allow us to better understand coverage gaps, improve coordination across programmes, and strengthen targeting. This will help ensure that workers and vulnerable households receive timely and effective support, while enabling more informed, evidence-based decision-making. The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa appreciates the continued technical support of the ILO in advancing social protection reforms in the province.”
The IBR has been developed under the ILO’s Digital Convergence Initiative (DCI) framework and aims to support more proactive and data-driven delivery of social protection programmes.Designed as both an analytical and operational tool, the Integrated Beneficiary Registry will support planning, monitoring and coordination across social protection programmes.
It will also serve as a key tool for coordinating the supply side of social protection, enabling data-driven policy decisions and strengthening transparency and accountability in the allocation of public resources.By enabling comprehensive analytics, the system will help identify coverage gaps, strengthen targeting, and improve overall system performance.
