UNICEF and Children mortality in Pakistan

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, November 17,  2021:  The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) calls for accelerated efforts to save precious lives of children born prematurely as World Prematurity Day (WCD) is commemorated on November 17, 2021. The theme this year is, Zero Separation Act now! Keep parents and babies born too soon together.

In Pakistan, where preterm birth is one of the three leading causes for neonatal mortality and accounts for more than one-third of all deaths in newborns, UNICEF is collaborating with the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination, and provincial health departments to establish Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) units in health facilities across the country to save lives of children born too soon.

KMC is one of the best options to provide care for babies born before time in low and middle-income countries.

“Scaling up Kangaroo Mother Care in health facilities across Pakistan, is a cost-effective intervention to save preterm infants,” said Aida Girma, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan.

“Introduced in Pakistan by UNICEF a few years back, KMC has become increasingly popular with health professionals caring for children born before time. The essence of KMC is to keep parents and babies born before time, together as against the past practice of separating small and sick babies from their mothers. The physical and emotional closeness of the baby and parents during birth, delivery, and hospitalization has long-term health benefits for the child. Additional care during pregnancy, complete antenatal care, nutritious food, mental and psychosocial support to pregnant women, and birth spacing can reduce premature births,” Ms. Girma added.

In KMC, the newborn is held closely to the chest by the parent, mother, or father, with a blanket wrapped around both. Skin-to-skin contact provides warmth and prevents hyperthermia. It is medically beneficial for the baby and good for parent-child bonding.

So far, 30 KMC units have been established in Pakistan with support from UNICEF and other development partners for round-the-clock service delivery. UNICEF has provided all the necessary equipment and materials to help establish 24 units in various public health centers - 16 in Punjab, 4 in Sindh, 1 in KP, 1 in AJK, and 2 in Islamabad Capital Territory. It is collaborating with the Government to scale up KMC units across the country.

The government of Pakistan and its development partners are trying to reduce preterm births and newborn mortality due to related complications such as Birth Asphyxia, Prematurity, and Sepsis. These efforts have helped reduce newborn mortality from 55 to 42 deaths per 1,000 live births during the last five years. It has also had a remarkable impact on morbidity in preterm newborns.

The most vulnerable newborns are those born in marginalized groups, rural areas, urban slum environments, and humanitarian settings. UNICEF emphasizes that the reduction in premature births and newborn deaths can be achieved by strengthening health policies and services with a focus on maternal nutrition and improving access and care for mothers and newborns, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

Globally, preterm birth is one of the leading causes of child deaths under age 5 as almost 15 million babies in the world are born prematurely and nearly 1 million die due to related complications. Across 184 countries, the rate of preterm birth ranges from 5% to 18% of babies born. Small and sick newborns, most of whom are born preterm, have the highest risk of death and contribute to the majority of the world’s disabled children.

Inequalities in survival rates around the world are stark. In low-income settings, half of the babies born at or below 32 weeks die due to a lack of feasible, cost-effective, and basic care, e.g. warmth, breastfeeding support, basic care for infections, and breathing difficulties.

 

 

 

Secretary-General's statement on the conclusion of the UN Climate Change Conference COP26

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, November 16,  2021:  The following is the statement of UNSG His Excellency Antonio Guterres on the conclusion of the UN Climate Conference COP26:

Let me begin by thanking our hosts —the UK government and the people of Glasgow — for their tremendous hospitality.

I salute Alok Sharma and his team.  This was an extremely challenging conference. They have shown remarkable expertise in reaching consensus among parties.
 
I am grateful to Patricia Espinosa and all my colleagues on the United Nations Climate Change team.

And I express my gratitude to all delegates — and all those on the outside who have put pressure on this COP to deliver.

The approved texts are a compromise. They reflect the interests, the conditions, the contradictions, and the state of political will in the world today. 

They take important steps, but unfortunately, the collective political will was not enough to overcome some deep contradictions.

As I said at the opening, we must accelerate action to keep the 1.5-degree goal alive.

Our fragile planet is hanging by a thread. 

We are still knocking on the door of climate catastrophe. 

It is time to go into emergency mode — or our chance of reaching net-zero will itself be zero.

I reaffirm my conviction that we must end fossil fuels subsidies.
Phase-out coal. 

Put a price on carbon.

Build resilience of vulnerable communities against the here and now impacts of climate change. 

And make good on the $100 billion climate finance commitment to support developing countries.

We did not achieve these goals at this conference. But we have some building blocks for progress.

Commitments to end deforestation. To drastically reduce methane emissions. To mobilize private finance around net zero. 

And the texts today reaffirm my resolve towards the 1.5-degree goal. Boost climate finance for adaptation. Recognize the need to strengthen support for vulnerable countries suffering from irreparable climate damage.  

And for the first time, they encourage International Financial Institutions to consider climate vulnerabilities in concessional financial and other forms of support, including Special Drawing Rights.

And finally, close the Paris rule book with an agreement on carbon markets and transparency. 

These are welcome steps, but they are not enough. 

Science tells us that the absolute priority must be rapid, deep, and sustained emissions reductions in this decade.

Specifically — a 45% cut by 2030 compared to 2010 levels. 

But the present set of Nationally Determined Contributions -- even if fully implemented -- will still increase emissions this decade on a pathway that will lead us to well above 2 degrees by the end of the century compared to pre-industrial levels.

I welcome the agreement between US and China here in Glasgow that — like the text, today — pledges to accelerate action to reduce emissions in the 2020s.

To help lower emissions in many other emerging economies, we need to build coalitions of support including developed countries, financial institutions, those with the technical know-how.

This is crucial to help each of those emerging countries speed the transition from coal and accelerate the greening of their economies.   

The partnership with South Africa announced a few days ago is a model for doing just that. 

I want to make a particular appeal for our future work concerning adaptation and the issue of loss and damage.

Adaptation isn’t a technocratic issue, it is life or death.

I was once Prime Minister of my country. And I imagine myself today in the shoes of a leader from a vulnerable country. 

COVID-19 vaccines are scarce. My economy is sinking. Debt is mounting.  International resources for recovery are completely insufficient. 

Meanwhile, although we contributed the least to the climate crisis, we suffer the most. 
And when yet another hurricane devastates my country, the treasury is empty. 

Protecting countries from climate disasters is not charity.  It is solidarity and enlightened self-interest. 

We have another climate crisis today. A climate of mistrust is enveloping our globe.  Climate action can help rebuild trust and restore credibility. 

That means finally delivering on the $100 billion climate finance commitment to developing countries.

No more IOUs.

It means measuring progress, updating climate plans every year, and raising ambition. I will convene a global stock-taking summit at the heads of state level in 2023. 

And it means – beyond the mechanisms already set out in the Paris Agreement –  establishing clear standards to measure and analyze net-zero commitments from non-state actors.  

I will create a High-Level Expert Group with that objective.

Finally, I want to close with a message of hope and resolve to young people, indigenous communities, women leaders, all those leading the climate action army.
I know many of you are disappointed. 

Successor failure is not an act of nature. It’s in our hands.

The path of progress is not always a straight line. Sometimes there are detours. Sometimes there are ditches.

As the great Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson said: “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.”

We have many more seeds to plant along the path. 

We won’t reach our destination in one day or one conference.

But I know we can get there.
 
We are in the fight of our lives.
 
Never give up. Never retreat. Keep pushing forward.

I will be with you all the way.

COP 27 starts now.

 

 

 China and artificial sun

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, November 15,  2021:  China’s “artificial sun” set a new record after it ran at 120 million degrees Celsius for 101 seconds, according to state media. The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) device designed by China replicates the nuclear fusion process carried out by the sun. For 20 seconds, EAST also achieved a peak temperature of 160 million degrees Celsius which is over ten times hotter than the sun. The experiment was conducted at the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP), in Hefei. The ultimate goal of EAST is to create nuclear fusion like the Sun, using deuterium abound in the sea. Deuterium from one liter of seawater can produce energy equivalent to 300 liters of gasoline, through a nuclear fusion reaction. For nuclear fusion to occur, tremendous heat and pressure are applied to hydrogen atoms so that they fuse and unlike fission, Nuclear fusion is considered a safer process with no nuclear waste. Nuclear fusion could potentially provide unlimited clean energy and very low costs. China’s EAST project is part of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) facility which will become the world’s largest nuclear fusion reactor after it becomes operational in 2035. Several countries are a part of this project, including South Korea, Japan, Russia, India, and the United States. The next goal for the EAST project is to maintain the high temperature for a long period.

Pakistan to immunize more than 90 million children against measles and rubella

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, November 13,  2021:  Today Dr. Faisal Sultan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health, launched a nationwide campaign to immunize more than 90 million children against the deadly measles and rubella diseases across Pakistan, in what is bound to become one of the biggest campaigns in the world.

More than 386,000 health professionals, including 76,000 vaccinators and more than 143,000 social mobilizers are mobilized for the two-week campaign supported by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF, WHO, and partners. The campaign targets children aged between 9 months and 15 years; those aged up to five will also receive the oral polio vaccine.

“Measles and Rubella are contagious diseases and can have severe complications for children even death. An effective vaccine against Measles and Rubella is available to prevent children from the two diseases. I urge both the front-line workers to work with dedication and the caregivers to express their support by vaccinating their children against the diseases,” said Dr. Faisal Sultan, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health.

Measles and Rubella are a couple of devastating diseases that cause severe sickness and can take lives,” said Dr. Muhammad Akram Shah, National Programme Manager, Expanded Programme on Immunization. In recent years cases have surged dramatically in Pakistan. “Measles cases rose alarmingly affecting thousands of children and claiming many young lives. We need to vaccinate every child”, said Dr. Shah.

The campaign will be conducted in public and private health facilities, outreach centers as well as educational facilities, for 12 days from 15 November to 27th. Nearly half of the children who are to be immunized are enrolled in schools. The MR vaccine will be available in a routine immunization schedule for children at 9 months and 15 months of age.

“The Measles and Rubella campaign will move us not only one step closer to maintaining measles elimination and accelerating rubella control, but also one step closer to reducing the overall child mortality across Pakistan. Every child has the right to access life-saving healthcare,” said Dr. Palitha Mahipala, WHO Representative in Pakistan. “WHO is partnering with the Government of Pakistan and supports to ensure that all children get vaccinated against Measles & Rubella. We appreciate the strong political commitment of the Government of Pakistan towards the measles elimination for the benefit of all children in Pakistan.”

“Today’s world is still grappling with the very contagious measles and rubella viruses, none of which have gone away despite being entirely preventable with a simple vaccine,” said Ms. Aida Girma, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan. “UNICEF is proud to support the Government to ensure that safe, effective vaccines are available and delivered nationwide. By working together, we can contribute towards the global eradication of measles and rubella, to the benefit of children in Pakistan and across the world.”

Pakistan has demonstrated unwavering commitment toward restoring and strengthening immunization services across the country over the past years, with promising results. Targeting every child is a priority to help ensure that vaccination is equitable for every child.

 

 

 

U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West Visits Pakistan

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, November 13,  2021:  U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West visited Islamabad November 11-13.  In meetings of the extended Troika, participants discussed the way forward in Afghanistan.  West also held bilateral meetings with Pakistani government officials in which both parties emphasized the importance of pressing the Taliban to uphold its commitments to counterterrorism, the right of free passage for those who wish to depart Afghanistan, and the rights of all Afghan citizens, including minorities and women.

 

 EPI Receives 23 Vaccination Vans from UNICEF

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, November 12,  2021: Today, twenty-three vans to be used for expanding essential immunization coverage in high-risk districts including five megacities and the Islamabad Capital Territory, were handed over by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to the Federal Expanded Programme for Immunization (EPI). 

The Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health, Dr. Faisal Sultan received the vans from UNICEF Representative in Pakistan, Ms. Aida Girma in presence of the World Health Organisation Representative, Dr. Palitha Mahipala. The SAPM then passed on the ceremonial keys of the vehicles to representatives of the provincial health departments.

“We are thankful to our partners like UNICEF, WHO, and Gavi for their continuous support to us as we strive to improve health services for the people and especially children of Pakistan,” said Dr. Faisal Sultan, Specials Assistant to Prime Minister on Health. “This donation of vehicles would further strengthen our immunization program and we will be able to manage our campaigns more effectively.”

“I would like to share that we are about to launch the biggest ever measles campaign in the world. It would cover the entire country and it aims to vaccinate 90 million children. While we continue with the COVID-19 vaccination during which 1.7 million people were vaccinated yesterday in a single day, we are about to launch this massive campaign against measles. So far only one case of polio has been detected in the current year which is very good news. All this speaks of the strength of our health system and we register progress in every domain,” he added.       

With funding of around 537,000 US dollars from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, a total of 30 vehicles, 23 Suzuki vans, and 7 Hilux vans, were to be handed over by UNICEF to EPI for expanding immunization services in high-risk districts, under-served areas, and densely populated urban areas with low capacities. While 23 Suzuki vans were handed over today, the remaining 7 vehicles are in the process of procurement. 

“UNICEF has been supporting EPI in terms of procurement of vaccines, cold chain management and raising awareness about the importance of immunization so that communities could benefit from the high quality of services being provided at health facilities and their doorstep during campaigns,” said Aida Girma, UNICEF Representative. “The vaccination vans handed over today to EPI will help expand these services.”

“We are encouraged by the dynamic leadership of the Ministry of National Health Services and EPI and are grateful to our donors such as Gavi for their financial support as we push forward to achieve the shared objective of keeping every child in Pakistan, alive, healthy, and thriving. ”

Easily identifiable through EPI branding, each of these vans would carry a team of health professionals provided by the respective district health department, including a vaccinator, Lady Health Visitor, community midwife, and a social mobilizer along with a standard kit of medicines and equipment.

Each team will be able to provide health and hygiene services including vaccination, vitamin A supplementation, deworming, antenatal care, screening of nutritional status, provision of micronutrient supplements, and behavioral change communication messages.

“WHO is partnering with the Government of Pakistan and supports ensuring that all children get vaccinated against vaccine-preventable diseases,” said Dr. Palitha Mahipala, WHO Representative in Pakistan.

“Vaccination is one of the most successful public health measures in the history of medicine. The collaboration and the donation are important to strengthen routine immunization services and improve coverage. Currently, the nationwide measles & rubella (MR) campaign is planned across the country from 15 to 27 November 2021. This MR campaign will protect against the deadly measles and rubella diseases to more than 91 million children from 9 months to less than 15 years of age, said Dr. Palitha Mahipala, WHO Representative in Pakistan,” he added.

 

 

 

 UNDP, EU hold a workshop on strengthening Swat, Malakand Dispute Resolution Councils

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, November 11,  2021: To strengthen the Dispute Resolution Councils (DRC) of Malakand Division, a consultative workshop was held today.

The DRCs are an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) forum established under the KP Police Act 2017 and provide alternative dispute resolution services at the police station, subdivision, and district level. A statutory forum, the DRC provides services to the masses at the grass-root level enabling citizens to benefit from out-of-court services for dispute resolution.

The workshop was attended by representatives of DRCs from different districts of Malakand Division and Swat. DRC members presented their progress, challenges, how to overcome them, and recommendations to strengthen the forums. The workshop also reviewed the ADR member selection criteria, code of conduct and ethics for the DRCs, and the actual rules in the DRCs. 

District Police Officer Swat Mr. Zahid Nawaz Marwat thanked UNDP and the European Union for their interest and support in building the capacity of DRCs. “Dispute Resolution Councils play a very integral role in conflict resolution and ensuring justice sector doesn’t get burdened. Like any other forum that works on problem-solving, it faces multiple challenges. I am hopeful discussing its issues and challenges and proposing recommendations will help us overcome them and thereby strengthen them.”

This activity was held through the EU-funded “Promoting the Rule of Law and Enhancing the Criminal Justice System in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Newly Merged Districts and Balochistan” project. Jointly implemented by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the program aims to support reform processes to ensure the delivery of people-centered justice, enhance access to justice for all, particularly women and less privileged/marginalized groups; and improve service delivery of the security sector in line with constitutional safeguards and international standards.

 

 

 Needed freshness in foreign policy

Jassim Taqui

While the nation is celebrating the birth anniversary of Allama Muhammad Iqbal (November 9, 1977), Pakistan needs to revise its foreign policy in line with the directives of the founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

In his speech on 11^th August 1949, Jinnah proclaimed “You are free! You are free to go to your temples. You are free to go to your mosques or any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion, caste, or creed—that has nothing to do with the business of the state.”

That should be the basic principle that should shape the foreign policy and not the present religious policy that divides the nation and creates difficulties with the international community.

Pakistan must also revisit its policy towards the minorities in line with the guidelines of the Quaid who in their last speeches strongly emphasized that “ this country is for all segments of religions’ and that there would be no discrimination against minorities.

In line with this principle, no religious minority should be declared “ non-Muslim” or kafir.

Furthermore, the decision-makers should not make foreign policy India-centric. Instead, there should be interaction with India on regional and international levels without compromising the Kashmir issue.

The present policy is causing the isolation of Pakistan by limiting its foreign policy options. Already, the friends of Pakistan especially in the Middle East are coming closer to India politically, economically, and even militarily while Kashmir remains on the back burner.

 

Pakistan agrees one-month 'complete ceasefire' with local Taliban militants

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, November 9,  2021: Pakistan and local Taliban militants have agreed on a one-month ceasefire which may be extended if both sides agree, spokesmen said on Monday, opening the possibility of a fuller peace accord to help end years of bloodshed.

There have been numerous failed attempts to reach peace agreements in the past. The latest talks were opened following the victory of the Afghan Taliban in August and the two sides have been meeting across the border in Afghanistan, with the aid of Afghan Taliban leaders.

The TTP has killed thousands of military personnel and civilians over the years in bombings and suicide attacks.

Among its attacks was a 2014 assault on a military-run school in Peshawar, near the border with Afghanistan, which killed 149 people including 132 children.

The TTP, which sources said had been demanding the release of several prisoners as a condition for full ceasefire negotiations, said it was "ready for a dialogue that will lead to lasting peace in the country".

It said the ceasefire would come into force from Tuesday and last until Dec. 9 and could be extended if both sides agreed. Special committees had been set up to try to map out the negotiation process.

The agreement comes days after the government in Islamabad reached an accord with another militant group Tehrik-e-Labaik Pakistan or TLP, after weeks of violent clashes. 

The TTP, which is on a U.S. State Department list of foreign terrorist organizations, has carried out a brutal campaign of oppression in tribal districts along the Afghan-Pakistan border, including public floggings and executions to enforce its harsh version of Sharia.

The group was badly weakened by Pakistan military offensives which drove it from its stronghold in the tribal districts but it is estimated to control some 4,000-5,000 fighters, many based across the border in Afghanistan.