Author Topic: Spaarc Report Paints Bleak Picture Of Education And Healthcare  (Read 647 times)

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Spaarc Report Paints Bleak Picture Of Education And Healthcare
Karachi:June 28:Though Sindh government allocated the highest amount for education and health of all the provinces in the budget for 2012-13, it was still in no position to meet its millennium development goals by the deadline of 2015.
Rs111.9 billion and Rs49.52 billion had been allotted for education and health, respectively.
This was stated in a comprehensive report titled ‘State of Pakistan’s Children 2012’, which was launched by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of Child on Thursday. The report looks into all aspects that affect the plight of children in the country.
Education
Pakistan ranks second on the list of most out of school children in the world. According to the EFA Global Monitoring Report 2012, approximately one fourth of the 19.75 million children in Pakistan aged between five and nine are out of school. The country reduced its spending on education from 2.6% to 2.3% of the GNP over the last decade and ranks 113 out of 120 countries on the Education Development Index.
The not-for-profit organisation recommended an increase in vocational training centres, hiring local teachers at schools and increase in pay scales only on the basis of performance.
Pakistan has the lowest combined youth literacy rate with 70.7%. Only 61% of
females are literate compared to 79% of males in the age group between 15 and 24. years
Health
At least 43% of children born in Pakistan are afflicted by stunting.
It is estimated that 21.7% children at the national level are severely stunted while 21.3% are moderately stunted.
According to UNICEF, the mortality rate for children under five declined from 122 per
1,000 births in 1990 to 72 per 1,000 births as in 2011, but was yet to reach the target of 52 per deaths 1,000 births.
Pakistan accounted for nearly 30% of all polio cases recorded worldwide. There were 142 cases reported in 2010 and the figure jumped to 198 in 2011. In 2012, according to official reports, the total number of polio cases recorded was 58, but the data excluded patients in the North and South Waziristan tribal agencies.
It is estimated that 2.1 million cases of measles are reported annually from Pakistan and 21,000 of them die of complications from the disease.
Violence against Children
At least 170 children went missing or were kidnapped from Karachi alone in the first nine months of 2012.
In the same year, around 5,659 cases of violence against children were reported across Pakistan from January to October 2012. These included 943 murders, 1,170 injuries, 302 cases of sodomy; 204 cases of child trafficking, 410 forced marriages, 164 Karo Kari incidents, and 260 cases of missing children.
Other incidents included 407 cases of sexual assault, 547 torture cases, 323 child suicides, 530 kidnappings and 176 Vani cases.
The not-for-profit organisation expressed an urgent need to pass the Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill 2013, the Criminal Law Amendment Bill 2013 and the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act 2009.
Juvenile Justice
The number of juveniles detained in prisons decreased from 1,421 in 2011 to 1,398 in 2012. The detainees included 1,219 under trial and 179 convicted juveniles.
During the year juveniles were found handcuffed at the city courts and in certain instances, the under trial juveniles were tied with a rope.
Panels of lawyers have been constituted in different districts of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh, but are dysfunctional due to the lack of funds.
PEMRA’s Content Regulations 2012 cover protection of identity of rape victims. However, protection of the identity of juvenile offenders has not been specifically stated.
An example is the case of Rimsha Masih.The News.
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