PESHAWAR: As Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has stayed polio-free this year so far, experts associated with vaccination campaigns are frustrated with new reasons for the refusal of parents against the immunization of children, exposing them to poliomyelitis, a crippling childhood ailment. During the last two anti-polio campaigns conducted in April and June, about 21,459 children remained unvaccinated due to flimsy demands of people in exchange for allowing immunization of their children. According to a report prepared
Child Rights in Focus
The Chairperson @ncrcpak @ayesharazafarooq and the Minister of Law & Justice Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar had a meeting with @Meta and @ncmec team to discuss the launch of the “Take It Down” portal in Pakistan! This innovative platform will empower children under 18 years to prevent the non-consensual sharing of intimate images/videos and ensure their privacy and safety online. Launching soon in Urdu, the “Take It Down” portal is a significant step forward in
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on 5 July 2024 conducted a meeting on the dangers of narcotics and ordered the strengthening of the provincial narcotics wing to control the drug menace. Officials said the government had decided to strengthen the Excise and Narcotics Control Department in order to protect the new generation, especially children, from the dangers of drugs. This decision was made during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Shah at
In a bid to modernize the traditional education system in Sindh, the provincial government has decided to establish 300 model schools across the region. The decision was made during the first meeting of the Advisory Board of the Model School Support Unit, chaired by Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah. The meeting aimed to discuss measures for quality improvement and modernization of the education system. The minister for education emphasized the need for
KARACHI: Former Caretaker Chief Minister of Sindh, retired Justice Maqbool Bagar, has hailed the initiative to establish the SOS Children’s Village in Premnagar, Islamkot, saying that the care center will be the first-ever in the arid region of Tharparkar for the education and upbringing of both natural and social orphans belonging to Muslim and Hindu communities, which are the two main communities residing in the entire district. He said this at the unveiling ceremony
ISLAMABAD: Poliovirus is continuously spreading across the country, and the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad has confirmed Type-1 Wild Poliovirus (WPV1) in two new districts, Abbottabad and Gwadar, including six other previously-affected districts. This brings the total count of infected districts for the year 2024 to 49, officials said, adding that recent detections highlight the ongoing challenge of polio eradication in Pakistan despite continued efforts.
LAHORE: The Punjab school education department has signed an agreement with Tech Valley UK and Canada for the provision of Chromebooks to 200 schools in the province. Under the agreement signed by Minister for Education Rana Sikandar Hayat, Tech Valley will also offer IT training to 10,000 students and teachers in Punjab with the support of Google for Education. The minister said the agreement with Tech Valley is a significant step towards ‘Digital Punjab’,
As women, many of us have navigated through the uncomfortable changes of puberty with an incomplete understanding of their implications and faced challenging pregnancies without adequate information or healthcare. Our experiences vary based on geographical location, income, and ethnicity. Yet, a shared absence of a rights-based discourse on access to sexual and reproductive healthcare persists. Women’s right to sexual and reproductive health is a fundamental human right under international law, intricately linked to the
LAHORE: In what appeared to be a disturbing incident, the Children’s Hospital has reportedly exchanged a ‘male infant with a dead baby girl’ and handed over the body to the parents, making them move to the police for action against the medics for ‘committing a crime’. An official said that a four-day-old sick baby boy was brought by his parents to the hospital some days back for treatment. During the treatment, he said, the
TAXILA: The Wah Cantonment police arrested a suspect for allegedly sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy on Monday. According to a police spokesman, a case of sexual abuse was registered by Wah Cantonment police on a complaint lodged by the brother of the victim against the accused. A police spokesman said a medical examination had confirmed that the victim had been subjected to sexual assault. The accused had been arrested after the complaint was registered.
PAKISTAN’S education system faces significant challenges on two fronts. Firstly, there is a staggering number of out-of-school children, estimated at 26.2 million. This means that a sizeable portion of the children are not accessing any formal education. Economic factors, cultural barriers, and inadequate infrastructure are the primary reasons. For instance, in some areas, cultural norms may prioritize work or domestic responsibilities over schooling, especially for girls. Additionally, many remote areas lack adequate school facilities,
Pakistan’s prime minister’s declaration of an education emergency is a long-overdue recognition of the severe state of the nation’s education system. However, while well-intentioned, the 14-point plan released by the government lacks the urgency and transformative potential that an actual emergency demands. It reiterates existing initiatives, raising concerns about its effectiveness in addressing the deep-rooted issues that are causing a crisis in the sector. A closer look at these 14 points reveals that these