The Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation have instructed officials linked to the government’s social assistance programme to reconfigure an accompanying cash scheme with additional considerations to address shortcomings, especially those involving pregnant woman and children under 2.

Implementation of the Covid-19 “Cash Transfer Programme for Poor and Vulnerable Households” as well as the use of mobile app features for registration and participation in the scheme have generally gone smoothly, the ministry said in a January 19 letter.

“However, there are still some shortcomings that need to be further addressed to make this programme more effective,” the letter said, calling for commune administrations and public health facilities to make adjustments to improve the cash assistance programme for beneficiaries.

Commune programme coordinators or capable replacements must be on duty during working hours to ensure that related services can be provided in a timely manner for pregnant women and children under 2 from poor families, it said.

Public health facilities must provide priority cards for households with pregnant women or children under 2 which do not yet have IDPoor cards.