The Universal Children Day was observed here Friday, to create awareness on children rights and ensure conducive environment focusing on their welfare.On December 14, 1954, the UN general assembly recommended that all the countries should introduce an annual event from 1956 known as Universal Children’s Day, to encourage fraternity and understanding among the children all over the world and to promote the welfare of children. He observed that there was a realization that all the stakeholders must put their sincere efforts towards making the society tolerant and ensuring healthy growth and development of children. For many millions of children in Pakistan, most of the foregoing may as well never have been written. The Unicef report on the “State of the world’s children 2014” says that about 35 per cent of children under five in Pakistan are underweight. Of them, 50 per cent have stunted growth and nine per cent are actually emaciated. Around 1,100 under-fives die every day from diahorrea and illnesses related to poor sanitation and hygiene. That aggregates to 401,500 under-fives dying every year from preventable conditions, a loss of social capital that repeats year on year. The literacy picture is little better — about 42 per cent of the total population aged 10-plus is illiterate. Around 12 million children areillegally in work — and by definition out of education. At least another 1.5 million nationwide live on the streets, driven there by maltreatment in the home, at school or simply by grinding and abject poverty.
Pakistan has little to celebrate on Universal Children’s Day, and much to be ashamed of as successive governments have failed to prioritise either the broad rights of the child, or education and child health. Children are treated little more than an easily-replaceble commodity.
pk.shafaqna.com
