The Aaghosh program gives cash support to pregnant women and mothers of young children in selected Punjab districts, tied to completing basic health steps. This guide explains who qualifies, what the conditions are, how much is paid, and how to register.

It is run by the Punjab Social Protection Authority (PSPA) as the health and nutrition component of the Punjab Human Capital Investment Project.

What the Aaghosh program is for

The first thousand days, from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday, shape a child’s health for life. Yet many mothers in low-income households skip antenatal check-ups, deliver at home without trained help, or miss vaccinations. Usually the reason is cost: transport fares, lost wages, and clinic expenses.

Aaghosh addresses that by paying the mother at each step, so the visit pays for itself instead of costing the family money it does not have.

The aim is to improve maternal and newborn health among poor and vulnerable households, and the payments are structured to encourage exactly the behaviours that keep mothers and babies alive and healthy.

Who is eligible

Eligibility generally covers:

  • Pregnant women, and
  • Nursing mothers with children up to two years of age
  • Holding a valid CNIC
  • Living in a covered district
  • From a poor or vulnerable household

The programme has been reported to operate in around 13 districts of Punjab under the Punjab Human Capital Investment Project. District coverage changes as projects expand, so confirm locally before relying on it.

Aaghosh pays in stages as mothers complete check-ups, safe delivery, and immunisation.

How much is paid, and when

Total support has been reported at up to about Rs 23,000 across the whole period from pregnancy until the child turns two.

The important detail: it is not one payment. It is released in stages as conditions are met, which typically follow this shape:

  1. During pregnancy, for attending antenatal check-ups
  2. At delivery, for giving birth at a health facility with trained staff
  3. After birth, for registering the birth and completing immunisation milestones
  4. Through the first two years, for continued vaccination and nutrition sessions

Amounts and stages are policy decisions and can change. Treat these figures as accurate as of 2026 and confirm the current position on the PSPA helpline 1221.

The conditions attached

Aaghosh is a conditional programme. Enrolment alone does not produce payment. Reported conditions include:

  • Quarterly medical examinations during pregnancy
  • Delivery with trained staff at a health facility, rather than an unattended home birth
  • Immunisation for the child up to age two
  • Birth registration of the child
  • Nutrition and hygiene sessions

Each of these is something you would want for your child anyway. The programme simply removes the financial reason to skip it.

How to register

There is no public online application form. Registration happens where the health services happen.

Step 1: Go to a government health facility

Visit a government health facility in a covered district: a Basic Health Unit, Rural Health Centre, THQ, or DHQ hospital. Registration drives are also run periodically in partnership with health and nutrition programmes.

Step 2: Take your documents

Bring:

  • Your original CNIC
  • Any pregnancy record or antenatal card you already have
  • The child’s B-Form and vaccination card, if the child is already born
  • An active mobile number registered on your own CNIC

Step 3: Get enrolled

Health facility staff record your details in the system. Registration is free. Nobody should charge you for it.

Step 4: Keep every appointment

This is where the money actually comes from. Attend your check-ups, deliver at the facility, and complete the vaccination schedule. Keep your antenatal card and vaccination card safe, since they are the proof that a condition was met.

If your payment has not arrived

Work through this list before assuming you were rejected:

  1. Was the condition completed and recorded? An unrecorded visit does not count.
  2. Is your CNIC correct in the system?
  3. Is your mobile number active and registered on your own CNIC?
  4. Has enough time passed? Payments follow a processing cycle.
  5. Did you move district? Coverage is district based.

Ask at the health facility where you registered first, since they can see whether the visit was recorded. Then call 1221.

Why the conditions are worth meeting anyway

It is easy to read the condition list as red tape. It is more useful to read it as the actual point of the programme.

Each step it pays for is one that measurably reduces risk:

  • Antenatal check-ups catch problems such as anaemia, high blood pressure, and poor foetal growth while they can still be treated.
  • Delivery with trained staff is the single biggest factor in surviving complications such as haemorrhage, which can kill within hours at home.
  • Immunisation protects against diseases that still cause childhood deaths in Pakistan.
  • Birth registration gives your child a legal identity, without which school admission, a CNIC, and every future welfare programme become difficult.
  • Nutrition sessions address stunting, which is largely irreversible after age two.

In other words, the money is not a reward for paperwork. It covers the fare and the lost wages that stop mothers doing things they already want to do.

Keep your cards safe

The single most practical thing you can do is protect two pieces of paper:

  • The antenatal card, which records your pregnancy check-ups
  • The vaccination card, which records your child’s immunisation

These are your proof that a condition was met. If a payment is disputed or a visit is missing from the system, the card is what settles it. Keep them together, keep them dry, and take them to every appointment. If a card is lost, tell the health facility promptly so the record can be reconstructed rather than left blank.

Protect yourself from fraud

  • Registration and all health services under the programme are free.
  • No agent can add your name for a fee.
  • Never share an OTP with anyone, including someone claiming to be from a bank or hospital.
  • Payment comes through the official system, never through a private individual.

Report anyone demanding money through the Pakistan Citizen’s Portal.

If Aaghosh does not cover your district, other options may:

Registering the birth is also worth doing promptly, both for Aaghosh and for everything that follows. See our birth certificate guide.

To see which Punjab and federal programmes your household may qualify for, try our free eligibility checker.

GoPunjab is an independent information website. We are not PSPA or the Health Department, cannot enrol you, and cannot release a payment. We only explain how the official process works.