Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on September 07 met the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (Unicef) new Pakistan representative, Pernille Ironside. He welcomed her and expressed the hope that the partnership between his government and Unicef would grow stronger during her term.
The meeting was held at the CM House and attended by Principal Secretary to CM Agha Wasif and Secretary to CM Raheem Shaikh along with Unicef Karachi Chief Field Officer Prem Bahadur Chand.
Ironside discussed with the CM ongoing and future collaborations of Unicef with the Sindh government. Welcoming the Unicef team, the CM said the provincial government valued its ‘excellent partnership’ with Unicef in multiple sectors, particularly in response to natural disasters and for strengthening essential services.
During the meeting, both sides held detailed discussions on the flood situation and the provincial government’s preparedness to face the related challenges. The CM noted that Sindh had taken strong measures to mitigate the impact of floods, whereas, Unicef’s timely support had proved crucial for affected communities.
Shah lauded Unicef’s efforts in flood-hit areas, where the agency enhanced primary health care, and maternal, newborn, and child health services in five districts, benefiting more than 555,000 people, including 420,000 children and 130,000 women.
Unicef also worked on rehabilitating cold chain systems for vaccines and established round-the-clock birth-dose vaccination sites in public hospitals, ensuring newborns received life-saving immunisation before discharge.
The meeting also highlighted Unicef’s broader portfolio in Sindh, including the Sindh School Daily Monitoring System (SSDMS) to track the student attendance and reduce dropouts through real-time alerts.
The Sindh Technical Assistance for Development through Enhanced Education Programme (STADEEP) education reform programme, which introduced decentralised school management, digital monitoring and professional development for teachers, benefitted more than 55,000 children.
Other such academic initiatives in Sindh included non-formal basic education centres set up with international support to bring thousands of out-of-school children back into learning through accelerated programmes, safe spaces for children and psycho-social support initiatives in flood-affected areas, provision of healing and recreational activities to help children recover from trauma, livelihood and skills training programmes for adolescent girls in Khairpur and Ghotki, and empowering them through vocational training and community awareness.
The CM expressed gratitude to Unicef for standing by Sindh during the times of crisis, particularly floods, and for supporting long-term improvements in education, health and child protection.
He reaffirmed his government’s commitment to continue working with Unicef to ensure that children and families across Sindh have access to better health, education and protection services.
