City goes blue as Sindh celebrates World Children’s Day

National, heritage and corporate buildings across the port city turned blue to symbolise commitment to child rights as Sindh celebrated World Children's Day on Friday.

Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho said the provincial health department was committed to child health, adding that the Sindh government would try to fulfil obligations in view of the Sustainable Development Goals, even with the high infant and child mortality.

She stressed the need to address malnutrition and stunting in Sindh, claiming the government would ramp up its nutritional programme, and also shed light on plans for critical neonatal care.

"We need to work together as a nation to secure the future and rights of our children, not just in Sindh but all over Pakistan," she added.

Meanwhile, United Nations Children's Fund representative Aida Girma said that while millions of girls and boys in Pakistan had seen their lives improve, millions of others continue to grapple with poverty, inequality and lack of access to essential services.

"The Covid-19 crisis is a child rights crisis," she went on to say. "We must work together to avert a lost generation as the global pandemic threatens to cause irreversible harm to children's education, nutrition and well-being."

World Children's Day marks the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on November 20, 1989. Pakistan ratified the convention the following year.