President Dr. Arif Alvi called upon the government, privileged persons, NGOs, and international organizations to especially focus on the needs of a large number of children worst affected by the super floods in Pakistan and to provide them with education, nutrition, shelter, and protect them from disease and hunger.
The international community observed World Children’s Day on Sunday, while governments, non-governmental organizations, civil society leaders, and Philanthropists across the globe reenergized their will and reiterated their support for underprivileged children by supporting their access to food, health care, education, and unhindered justice. World Children’s Day was first designated in 1954 as Universal Children’s Day and on this date in 1959, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which not only articulated comprehensive rights of the child and also made it mandatory for the member states to respect, uphold and ensure that every child gets his rights unrestrictedly.
Despite unimaginable growth, massive industrialization, technological innovations, and unlimited access to media and the Internet, today’s children are still facing multiple problems from climate change sufferings to poverty, no or substandard education, malnutrition and healthcare, and racism and discrimination to modern-day slavery, along with the menaces of the child labor, and child soldiers. Thus, the unprecedented development of mankind could not reduce pain for the children in disadvantaged communities in poor nations.
Children and young people are raising their voices on the issues that matter to their generation and calling for adults to create a better future, however global financial injustice and lack of resources always marred these efforts and still millions of children lack basic needs in the contemporary world. This day came at a time when a large number of children in Pakistan’s torrent-hit regions faced unique challenges as their homes, schools, and playgrounds had been destroyed by the floods, and they are confronting hunger, malnutrition, diseases, and the risk of illiteracy, so there is an urgent need that each and every citizen feel his responsibility and play his part in the collective effort so these children could be returned to their normal life as early as possible.
