Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has approved a significant expansion of the Sindh Social Protection Authority’s (SSPA) flagship Maternal and Child Support Programme (MCSP), known as MAMTA. The programme will now be extended to seven additional districts—Larkana, Sukkur, Khairpur, Shaheed Benazirabad, Jamshoro, Dadu, and Nausheroferoze—bringing the total coverage to 22 districts across the province. The decision was made during the second board meeting of the SSPA, chaired by the CM and attended by key provincial ministers and secretaries.
The expanded programme is designed to improve maternal and child health outcomes by providing integrated healthcare services coupled with enhanced financial aid. The cash support for eligible pregnant and lactating women has been increased to Rs. 41,000, distributed over a three-year period, up from the previous amount of Rs. 30,000. This conditional cash transfer is directly linked to fulfilling key health milestones, such as attending antenatal checkups and opting for institutional deliveries, to ensure proper nutrition and medical care.
Launched in January 2023, the MAMTA programme is a massive Rs. 48.3 billion social protection initiative, with the Sindh government contributing Rs. 6.3 billion. It is scheduled to run until December 2027. To date, the programme has registered 770,000 women at 800 health facilities across Sindh. Eligibility requires women to be at least 18 years old, possess a valid CNIC, and reside in one of the targeted districts.
Chief Minister Shah stated that expanding this social protection system is a cornerstone of his government’s strategy to reduce poverty, improve maternal health, and empower women in rural Sindh. Based on population projections, an estimated 2.6 million women will be eligible in the intervention districts over the programme’s five-year span, with the government aiming to achieve a 50% coverage rate, benefiting approximately 1.3 million women and their children.
