Children’s Day: ‘One in 77 babies dies on its first day’

Children urge govt to increase budget for health, education and child protection.

MULTAN: Groups of children under the age of 14 from 16 districts in the Punjab urged the chief minister on Saturday to address the problems faced by children.

Speaking at a programme organised by Save the Children at the Multan Press Club, they stressed the need for setting up child protection centres.

They said the government should allocate funds for these centres. They said the government should ensure that all children had access to education in accordance with Article 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan. Muhammad Amjad, a grade 7 student from Muzaffargarh, said the National Nutrition Survey 2011 had published alarming statistics on the state of food insecurity.  “The survey has revealed that about 59.5 per cent of the households are food insecure,” he said. Amjad said out of these 32.2 per cent were food insecure without hunger, 18.5 per cent food insecure with moderate hunger and 8.8 per cent were food insecure with severe hunger.

“The situation is more alarming in southern Punjab.” Amjad feared that if the issue of malnutrition was not addressed the number of under-five deaths in the region and the province could increase further.



Sheraz Ahmed, a grade 5 student, said the routine immunisation coverage in the Punjab was only 50 per cent.

“Routine immunisation coverage in rural Punjab is 42 per cent… in urban areas it is 94 per cent,” he said.

Sheraz demanded that the number of vaccinators and frontline health workers such as Lady Health Workers (LHWs) should be increased.

“Save the Children has been running a campaign for the rights of the children in south Punjab under the banner of Everyone Campaign… They have constituted 70 to 100 children’s clubs in every district with 25 to 30 students in each club to motivate them to work for child rights,” he said.

Iqra Batool, a grade 6 student, said the governments should increase budgetary allocations for lady health workers programme.

She said LHWs were important as they provided door-to-door primary healthcare.

“Pakistan has the highest first-day mortality rate for babies in Asia… one in 77 babies dies on its first day which makes 17 per cent of all under-five deaths in Pakistan,” she said.

The children also urged the government to increase budgetary allocation for health, education and child protection in the province.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2013.