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His Excellency
Mohammedmian Soomro, Governor of Sindh, was the Chief
Guest at the inaugural session of the National Symposium on
'Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD), at Aga Khan University
(AKU) on September 23-24, 2002.
Addressing
an audience of over 500 national and international speakers, faculty,
students and guests, the Governor reinforced the message of the
Symposium, that early childhood care and proper development can
pre-empt many diseases that afflict the individual in later years.
He delineated the testing circumstances that dictate the growth
pattern of poor children in both urban and rural areas of Pakistan.
"Through desperate economic circumstances of their parents, the
children grow up by themselves, eating whatever little is available,"
he said.
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Dr.
J. Fraser Mustard from the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research,
discussing the effects of early childhood development on learning,
behaviour and health.
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He added that
low literacy had prevented many parents from understanding the need
for the development of a child's mind and body. He noted that "Proper
nutrition for the children of Pakistan, and for the rest of the
developing nations, has been a cause of serious concern . but we
have been focused on the stunted bodies that are susceptible to
disease, and we have not given the needed level of attention to
what we now know is the damage caused, to a significant extent,
by malnutrition." He said medical research had confirmed that poor
early childhood development was a result of poor nutrition for the
mother during pregnancy, which later affected key aspects of brain
development, including educational and psychological growth. The
Governor also underlined the need for public-private partnerships,
citing the Tawana Pakistan Project, a partnership between the government
and AKU, for the improvement of nutrition of over 500,000 primary
age girls across Pakistan,as an example.
Ambassador
Saidullah Khan Dehlavi, Chairman, AKU Board of Trustees, suggested
that attention must now be given to early childhood, including the
child's emotional, psycho-social, cognitive and spiritual development.
He said it was unfortunate that the environment of children in developing
countries was one of neglect and deprivation. "However, parents
are becoming more aware of the need of early childhood care, as
child development workers continue to win over parents and enlist
the cooperation of entire villages and communities," he added.
In
his welcome address, Dr.
Robert Maudsley, Dean of Faculty of Health Sciences, AKU, said
developed and developing nations alike had begun to realise that
peri-natal and early childhood care are critical to human, social
and economic development. He said the Symposium aimed at bringing
to light a complex matter that encompassed biological, sociological,
economical and political issues.
Dr.
J. Fraser Mustard from the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research,
discussed the effects of early childhood development on learning,
behaviour and health. "There is a growing body of evidence that
brain development in the early years influences performance in the
formal school system and the level of education attained," he said.
He highlighted that "although special programmes for children who
have had a poor start could help some overcome the odds, the gains
are never what could be achieved if the children had a high-quality
early period."
Dr.
Jim Irvine, Planning Coordinator, Human Development Programme,
AKU, said the countries that invested in more comprehensive basic
education and health care provisions for adults, especially women,
and in the care and all-round development of infants and young children,
were more likely to have this investment reflected in more efficient
and effective schooling. He said increased investment in the care
of women and children eventually culminated in a workforce graduating
and contributing to national development.
Prof.
Zulfiqar Bhutta, Consultant Paediatrician at AKU, and Dr.
Mushtaq A. Khan, Director, Centre for Research on Poverty Reduction
and Income Distribution, Islamabad, spoke on the aspects of malnutrition,
in the mother as well as the child. According to the National Nutrition
Survey, Dr. Mushtaq said, "10-15 percent of pre-schoolers suffer
from moderate to severe malnutrition while 40% are under weight."
He said that timely measures, including investment in nutrition,
could reduce the incidence significantly, with palpable effects
on reduction in poverty. "Malnutrition during pregnancy and its
consequences stand to maximally affect the health and long-term
outcomes of the population," said Prof. Bhutta. Quoting data from
community-based studies in peri-urban and rural areas of Sindh,
he disclosed that low birth weight infants account for almost 30%
of all births, with maternal malnutrition is a dominant risk factor.
Among the recommendations
emanating from the Symposium were greater political awareness and
renewed commitment to early childhood health and education in Pakistan.
These would be implemented in programmes developed for both the
rural and urban areas of the country. The Symposium also stressed
the need to integrate ECCD initiatives and education through the
legislative framework of a Ministry of Human Development, complemented
by funding, and support networks rooted in the community providing
measurable outcomes.
The inaugural session was followed by a vote of thanks by Dr.
Nadir Ali Syed, Co-Chair of National Symposium Committee and
Assistant Professor in Department of Medicine, AKU.
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