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The earthquake may increase crime, social injustice and poverty in the NWFP and AJK, the report said, adding that issues such as human trafficking are a key concern. “As time goes on, some risks evolve while others might disappear. Long-term displacement and poverty make people vulnerable to substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, crime and human trafficking,” the report said. The quake has increased problems for single parents and families accommodating separated or orphaned children, it said, adding that the poor were likely to resort to crime. Displaced or orphaned children were particularly vulnerable to being sexually exploited, the report said.
US “Donated” Expired Vaccines
More than 2.5 million flu vaccines that were rejected last year by the US authorities because their expiry date had elapsed, were donated (as medical-relief material) for the quake-affected areas in Pakistan.
Sensing a possible shortage of the vaccine in the US, the state of Illinois had purchased around 256,000 doses in 2005 from British wholesaler, Ecosse Hospital Products Limited. But, the US Food and Drug Administration barred the vaccine’s import to Illinois, saying it could not guarantee its safety. Earlier, when the expired vaccine was offered to South Africa, its government refused to permit its import because it considered the vaccine “unsafe for humans”, it added. According to the paper, the staff of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich had been searching for a place to donate the vaccine, which they had ordered for in 2004.
Funds for Combating Malnutrition
A new World Bank report calls for more funding to combat malnutrition, but warns efforts should be targeted to pregnant women and children under two. It warns that trying to improve nutrition in children later in life is too late, too expensive and ineffective.
The report, Repositioning Nutrition as Central to Development, says malnutrition remains the world’s most serious health problem. Poor nutrition is implicated in more than half of all child deaths worldwide- a proportion unmatched by any infectious disease since the Black Death. “Malnutrition is among the most serious health problems in the world today that has not been tackled, “says the report’s lead author. “Roughly 30%of children in the world are undernourished and in fact 60%children for example who die of common diseases like malaria and diarrhoea would have lived but for malnourishment.”
Email: nutrition@worldbank.org Website: http://www.worldbank.org
Dental Diseases Among Children
Eighty-two percent children are infected with dental diseases in the Thatta district because of uninhibited sale of betel nut, tobacco, betel leaves, pan, biri and mainpuri. This was stated by the oral health services wing of the district health department in a report compiled by a team of dental surgeons released in March.
The team said that children’s oral hygiene condition could only be improved when a strict ban was imposed on the sale on all these items that contribute to dental decay. The team leader said that school health service program had been introduced in the 80s but later it was suspended in the interior Sindh by the health department. In Thatta district it had been reactivated with the efforts of EDO (Health) to educate school-going children.
Cancer Kills 43% Children
Fifty-two percent of all cancers diagnosed among children are that of leukemia. According to the Consultant Pediatric Oncology Unit, National Institute of Child Health (NICH), 70% of cancers in children are curable if timely diagnosed. Unfortunately in Pakistan, almost 43% of the children inflicted with cancer expire due to delayed diagnosis or inability to approach medical centers where proper treatment facilities are available. Over 150 patients are presently on active treatment and there are about 35 outpatients daily and daycare admissions of 15 to 20 children. Often the children have to be admitted in general pediatric ward due to lack of beds.
Children Unable to Go to School
As many as 300,000 children remain desperate to return to school, six months after their classrooms were destroyed and their friends and teachers were killed in the earthquake. Save the Children UK urging the Government of Pakistan and other international organizations to take immediate action to get children back into classrooms.
"Missing out on an education has a profound effect on a child’s future. The longer a child is out of school, the higher the risk that they will never return and will be put to work. If the Government, the UN and international donors don’t prioritize getting these children back into school soon they will have failed them.” said Chief Executive of Save the Children. Visit:.crin.org
CPWB to Care for Camel Jockeys
The Child Protection Welfare Bureau (CPWB) will collaborate with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to bring up Pakistani camel jockeys till they are 18 years old after which it will help them get jobs, particularly in the UAE. Unicef was also finalizing a complete rehabilitation plan for the jockeys. |
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