Of Children and Women in Pakistan
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United Nations Children’s Fund 90 Margalla Road, Sector: F8/2 Government of Pakistan SITUATION Islamabad, Pakistan [email protected] ANALYSIS www.unicef.org of children and women in Pakistan @United Nations Children Fund’s (UNICEF) June 2012 National Report June 2012 - Pakistan SITUATION ANALYSIS of children and women in Pakistan ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Preparation of this Situation Analysis (SitAn) has been a cooperative and consultative effort, involving many players and carried out over a nine-month gestation period. The impetus for the SitAn project came from the UNICEF Country Office, Islamabad, with the full support and encouragement of the Representative, Mr. Dan Rohrmann, throughout the process. The engagement of the Government of Pakistan, and the Governments of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa/ Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, through their participa- tion in the SitAn Steering Committee and in the consultations held at regional level, has been critical to the completion of this project. Special tribute must be paid to Dr. Saba Gul Khattak, member, Social Sector, Planning Commission, for her leadership and active participation in the process as Chairperson of the SitAn Steering Committee. Within UNICEF, active day-to-day supervision of the project was provided by Khamhoung Keovilay and Ehsan Ul Haq, without whose guidance and support its completion would not have been possible. Support, advice and assistance were provided by UNICEF staff in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar. Special thanks to Andro Shilakadze, Wafaa Saeed, Stefano Savi and Ketsamay Rajphangthong for facilitating consultations in their Field Offices. Special mention must be made, with gratitude for their assistance, contributions, and moral support throughout, of the following in the UNICEF Planning Monitoring and Evaluation section: Muhammad Mah- mood, Robeena Naz, Aisha Mansur, Uzma Aftab, Zeeshan Lateef, Umbreen Ijaz, Tomoko Niino, Jamila Khan, and in the field offices, Muhammad Akram Rana, Fawzia Hoodbhoy, Zulfiqar Durrani and Sherzad Khan. Others within UNICEF who contributed to the successful completion of this project include Alhaji Bah, Rob- ert Hanawalt, Dirk Stefaan Buyse, Razia Bano Noushi, Aysha Rasool, Ujwal Pradhanang, Nayyar Adeel Sid- diqui, Alamgir Mirza, Akhtar Shad, Begna Edo, Asiya Ashraf Chaudhry, Muhammad Irfan Saeed Alrai, Hem Sharma, Smaranda Popa and Susan Prosser. Special thanks go to Samuel Momanyi from UNICEF Headquar- ters and to Marc Vincent from the UNICEF Regional Office, South Asia, for their advice and support. The assembly and analysis of data, construction of statistical indicators and drafting of the report narra- tives was capably carried out by a research team from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), under the direction of Dr. Abid A. Burki and Muhammad Usman Khan. The lead consultant and team leader for the project was William Lee, who also edited the draft and final reports. The active engagement, encouragement, assistance and support of all these, and many more, are mani- fested in these reports, and are much appreciated. Karen B. Allen Deputy Representative UNICEF, Pakistan National Report - June 2012, Pakistan i SITUATION ANALYSIS of children and women in Pakistan FOREWORD As the countdown hastens to 2015, when countries will be evaluated according to their progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), we are pleased to present this Situation Analysis of Children and Women in Pakistan 2012, providing a comprehensive assessment of Pakistan’s accomplishments, and the challenges it still faces, in ensuring the basic human rights of its children and women, including the rights to survival, development, protection and a favourable living environment. Over the past 15 years, Pakistan has shown achievements in several of the key MDG target areas. School enrolment rates, including for girls, have gone up, and there are more women in the workplace and in decision-making roles in society. Despite natural and human-made crises – earthquakes, floods and conflicts in several provinces – improvements have been recorded in the rates of infant, child and maternal mortality, although they are still too high and there have been setbacks, especially due to the catastrophic floods of 2010, which have reversed some declining trends. The past two or three years have seen the adoption of laws, at both the federal and provincial levels, enunciating children’s rights and greatly strengthening the protection of women against discrimination and violence. The passage of the 18th Amendment establishing a framework for devolution of powers from the federal level to the provinces has sharpened the scope for better delivery of vital social services and greater public participation in governance. The 7th National Finance Commission Award has strengthened fiscal decentralization and addressed inequities in resource transfers to the local level. Importantly, the 18th Amendment recognized the provision of free and compulsory basic education as a fundamental human right, and it is to be hoped that decentralization of authority and responsibility to the community level will improve key outcomes and pave the way for achievement of the MDG targets and Education for All goals. Similarly, in health care, the findings reported in this SitAn indicate signs of improvement on both the supply and demand side of service delivery, with more women seeking antenatal care and a two-fold increase in coverage by Lady Health Workers delivering health care at household level. The challenges of accelerating progress on achieving the MDGs, alleviating the hardships of systemic poverty, and broadening the fulfilment of basic rights are at the forefront of this SitAn. With its accession to international conventions on civil and political rights, Pakistan has committed itself to guaranteeing the rights of the most vulnerable members of its population. The findings embodied in this Analysis can serve as a checklist to ensure that, going forward, those guarantees are fulfilled. The floods disaster, which brought new hardships, including displacement and the destruction of homes, schools and livelihoods, to the most vulnerable communities, highlighted the imperative of equity that is the core principle analyzed in these reports. In the context of “delivering as One”, for UN, for which Pakistan is one of eight pilot countries, this SitAn will serve as a valuable tool in the building of a coalition between Government and service providers such as UNICEF and other United Nations and non-governmental organizations, in pursuit of an equity-based approach to programming and planning. Particularly useful will be the findings here regarding the most deprived localities, at district level, in terms of access to such key services as health, education, and water and sanitation. It is to be hoped that the Child Well-being Index especially created for this analysis will greatly assist in the goal of focusing on the neediest communities and ensuring that resources are applied in the most equitable way possible. The preparation of this analysis has in itself exemplified the partnerships that are critical for the achieve- ment of the MDGs, the pursuit of equitable economic and human development, and the fulfilment of basic rights in Pakistan. Government and NGO representatives, at national and sub-national level, together with numerous independent experts and specialists, have been fully engaged in the “SitAn” process. Through National Report - June 2012, Pakistan ii SITUATION ANALYSIS of children and women in Pakistan a series of consultations, this cooperative, consultative approach has served to sharpen the focus and, we hope, enhanced the utility and relevance of these reports. We must express particular appreciation to the members of the SitAn Steering Committee and the many stakeholders throughout the country who gave of their time and expertise in contributing to and reviewing the early drafts of these reports. It is to be hoped that, through the on-going success of such partnerships, these efforts can find meaningful expression in achieving tangible results in enriching the well-being and guaranteeing the human rights of the children and women of Pakistan. Dr. Saba Gul Khattak Dan Rohrmann Member (Social Sector) Representative Planning Commission UNICEF Government of Pakistan Country Office Pakistan National Report - June 2012, Pakistan iii SITUATION ANALYSIS of children and women in Pakistan CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...........................................................................................................................i FOREWORD .........................................................................................................................................ii LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................................vii LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................viii ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................................................ix GLOSSARY ...........................................................................................................................................xii MAP OF PAKISTAN .............................................................................................................................