SEHAT Sahulat is a great programme but universal health coverage has a much larger vision. Sehat Sahulat is a state-financed health insurance system for the curative care of hospitalised patients, whereas UHC means healthcare for all. After the universalisation of the Sehat Sahulat programme in the federal areas, KP and Punjab, the term `universal health insurance` is increasingly being used in policy discussions. Many senior policymakers bureaucrats and politicians continue to equate UHI with
Child Rights in Focus
DADU: Police have arrested 15-year-old murder suspect, who confessed to strangling an eight-year-old girl to death in Kotri on April 8 and said he had been jobless for a long time and hungry for three days when he tried to snatch gold earrings from the girl and killed her when she threatened to tell on him. Jamshoro SSP Tariq Nawaz told a press conference at his office on 18 April 2024 that the suspect
Many children have been affected by measles in the Swabi district and locals have demanded of health department to take prompt measures to control ‘outbreak’ of the disease according to Dawn news. Nizar Khan, a resident of Lalbeg village, told Dawn that his two daughters were suffering from measles and many children in his neighbourhood were also affected by the disease. He said two daughters of his brother Fazl Mohammad were also suffering from
LAHORE: In response to the pressing need for accessible and high-quality emergency healthcare for children in Pakistan, an organisation has introduced an innovative telemedicine network in district and tehsil hospitals of Punjab, providing critical consultations to children in remote areas. The initiative aims to address the alarming child mortality rates in the country, with 1,000 children losing their lives daily due to various illnesses. The experts say with two-thirds of Pakistan’s population residing in
IT was on Ashura, Aug 19, 2021, when nine year-old Priya Kumari went missing. Just before her disappearance or abduction she had been happily helping her father a syncretic Hindu who runs a sabeel every year in Muharram in Sangrar, a small town near Sukkur serve sherbet to thirsty mourners. It is a curious case. For one, she `disappeared` from a place that was thronged with hundreds of people, and yet, reportedly, the police
This document by UNICEF provides a comprehensive analysis of the current state of child poverty in Pakistan, focusing on the factors contributing to this issue and the implications for child well-being. It highlights the lack of access to basic services such as education, healthcare, and sanitation as key drivers of child poverty in the country. The note also discusses the impact of poverty on children’s development, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to address the
NCRC is strongly advocating to raise the minimum marriageable age for girls to 18 years! The Commission has taken proactive steps by writing to provincial human rights and law departments in Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and ICT urging them to support this amendment and promptly present before the legislative assembly so that it can be passed and incorporated into the relevant law. Child marriage is a violation of children’s rights, robbing them of their
KARACHI: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has blocked more than 1.25 million URLs over objectionable content, the telecom sector regulator told the Sindh High Court on 16 April 2024. The authority submitted its reply to a petition filed against `objectionable, unethical, immoral and unlawful` content being uploaded on social media platforms. The regulator told the SHC that out of the 1,253,522 blocked URLs, 988,659 were banned for indecent and immoral content, 90,980 for content
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Federal Education on 17 April 2024 directed the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) to make cleanliness drive in schools and colleges a regular feature and ensure availability of cleanliness equipment in institutions as well. ‘If we cannot keep our schools clean how can we keep our communities clean’. We should treat our schools like our homes. Cleanliness is part of our hygiene,` said a brief statement issued by the education
GUJAR KHAN: Police on 17 April 2024 arrested a suspect accused of killing a girl after subjecting her to sexual assault. According to details, a 10-year-old girl who had gone missing around a fortnight ago from her house situated in Dulmi village, in the limits of Gujar Khan police station, was found murdered in a well last 8 April 2024. SSP Operations Hafiz Kamran Asghar said the suspect, identified as Falak Sher, confessed to
PESHAWAR: Ten more people, including nine children, were killed in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the aftermath of the torrential rains as the provincial government imposed emergency in 13 districts for provision of relief, restoration of damaged communication networks and water supply according to Dawn report. Six children were killed in separate incidents in Lower Dir district. On Monday night, a roof collapse killed two children and injured three others in Sakhawono village
Pakistan has a population of approximately 235 million, out of which at least 26.2 million children are of school-going age but still out of school. Among several other challenges that Pakistan faces as a developing country, the education crisis is one of the major ones that encompasses issues like access to education and the quality of its provision. Though efforts and improvements have been made over the past few years, there are still some