Gaps - Page 21

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…

Babies Deaths

The heartbreaking loss of 20 infants — mostly newborns — at Pakpattan’s District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital between June 16 and 22 is a damning indictment of systemic healthcare failures. While five health officials, including the Health CEO and Medical Superintendent, have been remanded, the initial inquiries reveal a tragedy rooted in layers…

Pakistan Faces Significant Education Crisis With Over 25m Children Out Of School: Report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan faces a significant education crisis, with an estimated 25.37 million out-of-school children (OOSC) aged 5–16. Non-Formal Education (NFE) serves as a vital alternative, providing flexible and accessible learning opportunities for these children. This was revealed in a report titled “Pakistan’s Non-Formal Education Report 2023–24,” launched at Allama Iqbal…

Pakistan Not Among Countries With Best Education Systems

The ranking of 10 countries with the best education systems in 2025 has been released. According to the Global Intelligence Unit’s Education Report 2025, the United States ranks first, the United Kingdom second and Australia third. These three countries spend five to six per cent of their GDP on education.…

25 Children, Driver Injured After School Van Plunges Into AJK Ravine

MUZAFFARABAD: At least 25 schoolchildren and a driver sustained injuries after a van fell into a gorge near Chikar hill station in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s (AJK) Neelum Valley. The AJK police said that the injured children and van driver were shifted to the hospital. According to the Superintendent…

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…