Millions of Children at Risk with Critical Malnutrition Levels

ISLAMABAD, September 18: Pakistan’s malnutrition levels are alarmingly high as around 60% of the country’s total population is facing food insecurity. This was revealed by Pakistan’s National Nutrition Survey (NNS) 2011 conducted by the Ministry of Health’s Nutrition Wing in collaboration with Agha Khan University. The survey found that in the households facing food insecurity, 50% of the women and children were found to be malnourished. Other important nutritional indicators measured by the Survey included maternal anaemia at 49%, night blindness 16%, child stunting level 43%, while wasting among children was found to be 13%. The survey found major differentials for chronic malnutrition between provinces, with Sindh, Balochistan and Federally Administered Tribal Areas being the major contributors to childhood malnutrition in the country.

Data released earlier this year in January by the Flood Affected Nutrition Survey (FANS) 2010, conducted by the Sindh Health Department in collaboration with UNICEF, Action Contre la Faim Canada and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had also revealed critical levels of malnutrition among the children in flood-affected areas of Pakistan. The Flood Affected Nutrition Survey recorded a Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rate of 23.1% and 21.2% in children aged between 6-59 months in Northern and Southern Sindh, respectively. Furthermore, records from Northern Sindh revealed a Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) rate of 6.1 and the Sindh government estimated about 90,000 children aged 6-59 months to be malnourished.

As per suggestions by experts following the launch of the National Nutrition Survey results, there is dire need for a concerted multi-sector national and provincial nutrition strategy along with oversight mechanisms are needed to address the mother and child health and nutrition problems in the country. Top

Imprisoned Parents Kids` Custody to Probation Officers Suggested

LAHORE, November 24: Rights activists and experts at a consultative meeting organized by  SPARC urged the police, judiciary and jail administration to avoid keeping children in detention in case of any crime committed by their parents. In such cases, the law-enforcement agencies and jail administrations should make efforts for not only handing over the children to probation officers but also think about their parents release through courts on humanitarian grounds.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Secretary-General I.A Rehman urged the government to take non-custodial measures like bail and probation system to keep women and their children away from jail. He said in case of a suckling baby, the authorities concerned should try hard to help his/her mother`s early release rather than keeping them in jail.

MPA Arifa Khalid urged the civil society representatives and the authorities concerned to conduct training for the capacity building of parliamentarians, police and judicial officials for protecting the rights of those children whose parents were detained in jail under various crimes.

Sparc child rights expert Rashad Aziz shared the draft amid recommendations for the protection and welfare of children whose parents were in jail. National Programme Manager (Sparc) Abdullah Khoso shared that there were about 180 children along with nearly 1,200 women prisoners in different jails of Pakistan. He said article 25 (3) of the Constitution suggested for making any special provisions for the protection of women and children however, the laws are not enacted that could deal with the protection, survival and development issues of children and pregnant women in prisons. Top

Call for implementation of laws for juveniles

KARACHI, November 26: Representatives of the judiciary, police and civil society called on the government to set up special courts for underage inmates and implement the juvenile laws on Saturday. The event was jointly organised by the Sindh home department’s Directorate of Reclamation and Probation and SPARC.

Stress was placed on detention as a last resort and the options of diversion (police), bail, diversion (court) and probation for juvenile offenders at the consultative meeting on the State of Probation and Juvenile Justice System in Sindh. Recommendations for proper budgetary allocations for the juvenile justice system were made; appointment of probation and parole officers, including at least one female probation officer for each divisional headquarters; formation of a panel of lawyers in every district to plead cases of children; and adoption of the rules for the Sindh Children Act, 1955. Director-General of the Sindh Judicial Academy retired Justice Saleem Akthar said that effective implementation of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000 and other related laws could be an effective tool in reducing the number of children in prisons.

20 probation officers and 22 parole officers have recently been inducted through the Sindh Public Service Commission and the Sindh Judicial Academy will be provide training to these newly-recruited probation and parole officers in order to enable them to effectively play their role in the criminal justice system for children. Top

“Sim Sim Hamara” Goes On Air

LAHORE, December 10: Pakistan Children Television’s programme “Sim Sim Hamara”, an educational and capacity-building TV series for children, was launched on December 10 at national TV. The TV series is aimed to be a high-quality early education resource for a large number of children who lack access to formal education opportunities.

“Sim Sim Hamara” is the Pakistani adaptation of the engaging programme “Sesame Street”, created by Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop in collaboration with Sesame Workshop, New York, and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The theatre group will create a total of 130 episodes of the series; 78 in Urdu and 52 in national languages. According to the group spokesman, along with language and numeracy skills, this new educational show will promote basic life skills, healthy habits, mutual respect and love for learning through locally-developed puppet stars.  Top

National Peace Prize to be Named after Malala

ISLAMABAD, December 21: 13-years-old Malala Yousafzai has championed the cause of the people of Swat and blogged about the atrocities of the Taliban during their regime by writing a diary for the BBC under a pseudonym of “Gul Makai”. She was nominated for the International Children Peace Award, the first Pakistani girl to be nominated for the award by the international children's advocacy group KidsRights Foundation.

In defiance of the Taliban in Swat, Malala decided to acquire education and helped her peers to do the same when the Taliban executed many people of the town, and blew up hundreds of schools, including large number of girls’schools. Admiring her efforts and outstanding services for the promotion of peace under extremely hostile conditions, she has been awarded first National Peace Award by government of Pakistan. Her dauntless struggle is to now be officially recognised. The annual award will now be known as the National Malala Peace Prize. It will be presented to outstanding Pakistan youth below 18 years of age.
“I am thankful not only to the students but also to their parents for honouring my requests and sending their daughters back to school,” she said.

On Malala’s request, the prime minister has directed the authorities to set up an IT campus in the Swat Degree College for Women. Malala vowed to keep working for girls’ rights not only in Swat valley but across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Top

Rape Victim’s Brother Shot Dead on Court Premises

ISLAMABAD, December 19: Alamzeb Khattak, 24- years- old brother of rape victim Uzma Ayub, had just attended the court proceedings of the alleged gang rape of his sister when he was gunned down in the presence of the DSP, two SHOs and others on the court premises in Takht Nusrati, District Karak on December 9. The Police have registered an FIR against ASI Hakeem Khan, his brother Ibrahim, Waheedullah and three unidentified persons. A high-level inquiry committee, headed by a Deputy Inspector General (DIG), has recommended registration of cases against the police officers for their failure to protect the brother of the rape victim and allowing a police procession to be staged against the judiciary. The committee said it was generally believed that the Karak Police facilitated the killers.

Uzma was allegedly kidnapped in July 2010 during a police raid at her house. She was held captive in a window-less room for months and repeatedly raped by several people, including policemen and a soldier. The rapists eventually sold her and while she was being transported to another location, she managed to escape while six-months pregnant on September 19. The abductors including the police have constantly been exerting pressure on the family not to press the charges. Even though Uzma clearly pointed out the culprits after her release, still the authorities failed to take any action.

On December 15, the civil society protested in Peshawar against the kidnapping and rape of Uzma, the killing of her brother and called for tougher sentences for the perpetrators. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Information stated that the perpetrators should be arrested and the police involved for the lack of security given to Alamzeb should be suspended along with the SHO and the DPO. Top

New Cases Show Failure of Anti-Polio Drive

ISLAMABAD, December 16: Despite the fact that a polio eradication emergency year has been declared in the country, the emergence of new cases of polio (type-I wild virus) indicates that the federal government`s campaign has failed to achieve the desired results.

The number of nationwide polio cases has now reached 173 after the new reports came from Bahawalpur, Qila Abdullah, Balochistan, and Khyber and Bajaur agencies in Fata. Pakistan now risks becoming the last remaining reservoir of the endemic polio virus in the world. The virus is continuing to cripple children in Pakistan because of the failure to reach all children with sufficient dosages of vaccine. Top

Students of Seminary Shackled for Addiction

KARACHI, December 15: In a police raid 54 boys and 14 men, between the ages of 15- 40 years were found shackled in the basement of a seminary Jamia Masjid Zakriya Kondali. The police said the inmates had been brought there by their families for treatment for their addiction but keeping them in fetters is highly objectionable and illegal.

In light of this situation Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) organized a group discussion to urge the government to take effective legal and administrative measures to curb violence against children. The participants observed that until the government took serious action, such barbarous incidents would continue.

They also expressed concern over an increase in the cases of corporal punishment in all settings; homes, care institutions, boarding facilities, educational institutions, workplaces, religious education institutions, police stations, prisons, and stressed that the process of legislation on the Sindh Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill 2011, which, according to SPARC, lay with the law department for vetting, be expedited. Top

NCCWD Notified as Part of Ministry of Human Rights

ISLAMABAD, December 12: The National Commission for Child Welfare and Development (NCCWD) has been placed with the Ministry of Human Rights following the approval of the Prime Minister. This placement of the advisory body has also been notified with the acknowledgement of SPARC’s efforts in the process.

With devolution of the Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education after the passing of the 18th Amendment, there was a great deal of ambiguity as to what role the federal government will have with regard to the child rights legislation; and the NCCWDs role with regard to implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

The notification of the NCCWD placement under the Ministry of Human Rights was consequential of the lobbying by SPARC and the Child Rights Movement following the 18th Amendment. Top