Govt deepens Gates Foundation ties on <a href="https://lumeamara.online/?p=6504" title="World Mental Health Day webinar”>health, finance, AI
MG News| September 10, 2026 at 03:45 PM GMT+05:00
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September 10, 2026 (MLN): The government held
wide-ranging discussions with the Gates Foundation on deepening collaboration
across human capital, health, financial inclusion and digital innovation, with
the Foundation’s South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa programme, combining cash transfers,
nutrition support, livelihoods training and access to citizen facilitation
centres for women, expected to reach around 170,000 women and 450,000 children
this year.
Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator
Muhammad Aurangzeb met a high-level Gates Foundation delegation led by Dr Anita
Zaidi, President, Gender Equality Division, along with Kalpana Kochhar, Interim
President, Global Policy and Advocacy Division, at the Finance Division, said a
press release issued
The Finance Minister welcomed the delegation and
appreciated the Gates Foundation’s continued support and engagement with
Pakistan, emphasizing the value of further collaboration through knowledge
sharing, technical expertise and international experience
Kalpana Kochhar briefed the Minister on the Foundation’s
growing engagement in Pakistan, particularly in human capital, child health,
nutrition, maternal health and women’s economic participation, also
highlighting nationwide nutrition efforts through the UNICEF “Livelihood
2.0” facility aimed at improving access to nutrition commodities and
addressing childhood stunting
Dr Anita Zaidi briefed the Minister on the Foundation’s
maternal health work and the use of artificial intelligence to improve health
outcomes, highlighting the LUMS AI Hub’s collaboration with provincial
governments on personalized solutions for women and families during pregnancy
and delivery, along with AI applications designed for low-connectivity
environments and basic Android devices, including local-language capabilities.
The discussion covered population growth and its
implications for maternal and child health, nutrition, poverty and girls’
education
The Minister briefed the delegation on the National
Population Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, emphasizing
federal-provincial coordination, women’s education and empowerment, greater
workforce participation and birth spacing, including through engagement with
religious scholars and other stakeholders
Senator Aurangzeb also highlighted the importance of
domestic investor confidence, privatization and expenditure reforms, including
rightsizing and greater use of digital technologies to improve government
efficiency
He outlined the government’s Access to Finance agenda
for SMEs, agriculture and other underserved segments, with a focus on digital
financial pathways, improved data exchanges and cash-flow-based lending, while
on revenue mobilization he emphasized enforcement, facilitation and trust
alongside digitalization and automation of tax assessments and audits
The Gates Foundation representatives welcomed progress
in Pakistan’s financial sector and expressed interest in supporting greater
access to finance, particularly for SMEs, through improved information flows,
digital footprints and cash-flow-based lending, highlighting the potential of
digital and data-driven solutions to strengthen financing pathways for small
businesses and retailers
The two sides also discussed opportunities in
agriculture, the digital economy and private-sector-led investment, with the
Minister highlighting growing interest in private equity and briefing the
delegation on the government’s efforts to strengthen Pakistan’s private equity
ecosystem and mobilize greater long-term domestic and international capital for
productive investment
The Minister appreciated the Gates Foundation’s
continued engagement and the value of its financial support, technical
expertise and knowledge sharing in advancing Pakistan’s development priorities
Dr Zaidi reaffirmed the Foundation’s commitment to
Pakistan, and both sides agreed to deepen collaboration across human capital,
health, financial inclusion and digital innovation
The delegation included Mr. Syed Ali Mahmood, Senior
Program Officer, Inclusive Financial Services; Ms. Aisha Salman, Program
Officer, Leadership Engagement Implementation, Gender Equality; Mr. Ammar Khan,
Senior Program Officer, Development Policy & Finance; Mr. Jamal Khan,
Deputy Director and South & Southeast Asia Lead, Global Policy &
Advocacy; Mr. Waqas Ul Hasan, Chief Executive Officer, Karandaaz Pakistan; Mr.
Taimoor Ali, Group Head, Karandaaz Pakistan; and Mr. Sharjeel Murtaza, Chief
Digital Officer, Karandaaz Pakistan. Senior officials of the Finance Division
also attended.
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