National - Page 8

Local Production Of Iron, Folic Acid Supplements May Curb Anaemia In 15m Pakistani Girls

ISLAMABAD: The local production of Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFAS) in adolescent doses could prevent around 15 million adolescent girls in Pakistan from suffering from iron deficiency anemia as ensuring sustainable access to these supplements could significantly reduce costs and lessen reliance on expensive imports, according to officials and nutrition experts. Iron deficiency anaemia is the leading cause…

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…

New Textbooks For Grade 1 To 5 To Be Delivered In Two Weeks

ISLAMABAD: The supply of newly developed textbooks for grade 1 to 5…

Children With Disabilities Showcase Talent At PNCA

Islamabad: The Directorate General of Special Education (DGSE), Ministry of Federal Education…

Nearly 1m Fail to get Polio Drops amid Increase in Refusal Cases

ISLAMABAD: While around a million children were missed during the year’s first nationwide polio campaign, Karachi stood out among the cities with most number of refusal cases. A total of 53,000 refusals were reported from across the country, with 58 per cent reported from Karachi alone, during the vaccination drive,…

Pakistan Faces High Child Eye Cancer Burden

Rawalpindi: Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital in Rawalpindi has completed genetic testing for 139 patients from 91 families with inherited eye conditions, marking one year since opening Pakistan’s first genetic testing lab dedicated to eye disorders. The lab, launched in January 2025, assists doctors in identifying genes that cause inherited vision…

UN Committee Issues Concluding Observations on Pakistan’s 6th and 7th Periodic Reports

The UN Child Rights Committee has issued its findings on the combined sixth and seventh periodic reports of Pakistan on Feb 5, 2026 following its latest review session. The findings contain the Committee’s main concerns and recommendations on implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), 1989.…

Minister orders transparency in Children’s Heart Surgery Programme

LAHORE: Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique has directed the officials concerned to ensure transparency in the CM Children’s Heart Surgery Programme besides improving the quality of service and providing excellent monitoring for the convenience of patients. He issued this direction while addressing an important meeting at Punjab Health Initiative…

Sindh Rates Poorly in Household Survey

KARACHI: A recently conducted government-commissioned survey has revealed that Punjab has better education and health facilities compared to other provinces, while Sindh and Balochistan remain the most underdeveloped province in this regard. These figures come from the Household Integrated Economic Survey 2024-25, conducted by the federal institution, the Pakistan Bureau…

Children Betrayed

JUST when we thought Pakistan had made meaningful progress and the debate on child marriage was nearly settled, a spanner has been thrown into the spokes of reform. Four years after the Federal Shariat Court’s ruling in 2021 that setting a minimum marriage age is not in contradiction with Islam,…

Digital Sexual Exploitation

As the international world processes the heinous amounts of child sexual abuse data released from the Epstein files, at home the National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency of FIA has uncovered a major network involved in the sexual exploitation of children via blackmail. A prime suspect, hailing from Murree, has been…

A Stronger Nation Begins in the Classroom

Education is one of the most powerful tools for national development. It shapes individuals, builds nations and strengthens societies. A strong education system creates skilled human capital, promotes economic growth and develops a sense of equality and social justice. In Pakistan, however, education has been a subject of endless debate…

Only 17pc adult Pakistanis aware of Vaping, E-cigarettes

ISLAMABAD: Despite the global rise of alternative nicotine products, a 2026 Gallup & Gilani Pakistan poll reveals that awareness of electronic cigarettes and vaping remains remarkably low in Pakistan, with only 17 percent of the adult population having heard of the technology. This lack of familiarity is shaped by significant…

Beyond the CRC review

Pakistan’s sixth and seventh periodic review before the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), held in Geneva on January 15-16, 2026, marked an important moment of reflection and accountability, examining progress made since the previous review in 2016. More than a formal reporting obligation, the review…

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