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Federal Health Minister Urges Action As Vaccination Refusals Hindering Polio Eradication

Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal has expressed serious concern over vaccine refusals, stating that nearly 43,000 parents in Sindh — 42,000 of them in Karachi alone —have refused polio vaccination for their children, posing a major obstacle to the eradication efforts. He made these remarks while visiting the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre for Polio (EOC) in Sindh to assess…

Birth Registration Of Girls Remains Low

Majority of women and girls have no legal existence in the official systems PESHAWAR: Where limited access to registration centers, particularly in remote and underserved areas, can partly explain the low birth registration rate for girls in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the social bias that confines women to the four walls of the…

Father Tells Heartbreaking Story Of Losing Two Children In Swat Tragedy

MARDAN: A man from Mardan recounted the tragic incident at the Swat…

CII To Deliberate On Mothers Milk Registry Today

ISLAMABAD: Senior child specialists from the Sindh Institute of Child Health and…

Superstitions, Stress And Family Pressure Depriving Karachi’s Infants Of Mother’s Milk

Despite widespread awareness of the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF), mothers in Karachi’s urban slums face significant barriers that prevent them from fully adhering to recommended practices, a new study has found. Myths, lack of family support, maternal health issues and socioeconomic pressures continue to hinder optimal infant feeding practices…

Mismatch In Deployment: Minister Announces Teachers’ Reshuffle

LAHORE: Before schools across Punjab closed for the summer vacation in May this year, a surprising issue came to light: more than 46,000 government teachers in the province were found to be surplus, meaning they were posted at public schools that didn’t actually need them. This was revealed in a…

Over 1.6m Children in Sindh Trapped In Child Labour, Survey Finds

KARACHI: Over 1.6 million children, between five and 17 years of age, in Sindh have been found to be trapped in child labour, revealed the Sindh Child Labour Survey 2022–2024. Conducted by the provincial labour department with technical support from Unicef and the Bureau of Statistics Sindh, the survey also…

PM Vows To Accelerate Polio Eradication Efforts

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on 3rd July reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to eradicating polio, vowing to intensify efforts with the support of international, provincial, and local teams to achieve a polio-free country. “We are committed to protect every child in Pakistan from this crippling disease and achieve a polio-free Pakistan,”…

Polio Cripples Another Child As Number Rises To 14 In Pakistan This Year

ISLAMABAD: Poliovirus has crippled another child in Pakistan, as Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, on 01-July-2025 confirmed the new case of wild poliovirus. The poliovirus was confirmed in a 19-month-old boy from Union Council Miranshah-3 in District North Waziristan, South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.…

65% Permanent Teaching Posts Vacant

Punjab government schools face a shortage of 100k teachers LAHORE: Around 65 percent permanent posts of government schoolteachers across Punjab are vacant. The posts include thousands in grade 17 to 20, among them a large number of headmasters and headmistresses as well as senior teachers. An official said the percentage…

1,000 Children Die Every Day In Pakistan: UNICEF

KARACHI: Four in every 10 families in Pakistan are now living in poverty, surviving on less than $3.65 a day, while nearly 1,000 children under five die daily as polio cases have surged alarmingly, according to the UNICEF Pakistan Annual Report 2024 released this week. The report paints a disturbing…

HRCP Records Rise In Violence Against Women, Children

PESHAWAR: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan on 30th June released its annual report on the human rights situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reporting a “significant” increase in violence against women and children, sectarian strife and tribal feuds. The report, which was released by provincial chief of the HRCP Akbar Khan…

Eradication Of Polio in KP Remains Elusive

PESHAWAR: The emergency operation centre for polio in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is struggling to cope with the chronic challenges it faces in eradication of poliomyelitis, a vaccine-preventable childhood ailment. The province has recorded seven polio cases, the highest number registered by any province in the country this year so far, owing…

Equal Marriage

THE Supreme Court recently issued a verdict advocating equal rights in marriage. The verdict originated from an appeal filed by a divorced couple opposing the dower provisions in the nikahnama. The female petitioner had challenged an earlier Lahore High Court judgement, which maintained that entries in the nikahnama be interpreted…