Aga Khan University’s division of women and child health with department of obstetrics and gynaecology and paediatrics and child health begin week-long activities to commemorate Universal Day of Children, marked on 20th November globally.
This year’s theme is ‘Investing in our children is investing in our future.’ The United National Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and partners have called on governments to adopt a six-point point plan for children’s protection, which includes guaranteeing access to health and nutrition services and making vaccines affordable and available to every child, among others.
Regarding investing in the initiative, Dr Shelina Bhamani, parenting programme lead at the department of Obstetrics and gynaecology, said there are evidences of high socioeconomic return available for every investment that has been done to support nurturing of children and families.
Commemoration will include advocacy of messages based on themes of children’s health, protection, nutrition, education and responsive caregiving. Support of preterm babies and families marked every year on Nov 17 as World Prematurity Day will also been included in this week as Pakistan is among the top ten countries of the world having two-third of deaths due to preterm birth complications. “The first step toward ensuring provision of care for premature children is by raising awareness and coming together to address their needs,” said Dr Shabina Ariff, associate professor in the department of paediatrics and child health and section of neonatal intensive care unit.
One of the key messages of the events is to invest in the nurturing of children from the early ages in a well-designed ecosystem that provides them conducive opportunities to grow, thrive, and succeed. Dr Salman Kirmani, chair, division of women and child health, Dr Lumaan Sheikh, chair of department of obstetrics and gynaecology and Dr Ali Faisal Saleem, service line chief of children’s hospital said AKU believe in investing in every initiative that helps support children and their families and endorsed joining in multidisciplinary efforts for supporting the global cause.
Aga Khan University’s division of women and child health with department of obstetrics and gynaecology and paediatrics and child health begin week-long activities to commemorate Universal Day of Children, marked on 20th November globally.
This year’s theme is ‘Investing in our children is investing in our future.’ The United National Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and partners have called on governments to adopt a six-point point plan for children’s protection, which includes guaranteeing access to health and nutrition services and making vaccines affordable and available to every child, among others.
Regarding investing in the initiative, Dr Shelina Bhamani, parenting programme lead at the department of Obstetrics and gynaecology, said there are evidences of high socioeconomic return available for every investment that has been done to support nurturing of children and families.
Commemoration will include advocacy of messages based on themes of children’s health, protection, nutrition, education and responsive caregiving. Support of preterm babies and families marked every year on Nov 17 as World Prematurity Day will also been included in this week as Pakistan is among the top ten countries of the world having two-third of deaths due to preterm birth complications. “The first step toward ensuring provision of care for premature children is by raising awareness and coming together to address their needs,” said Dr Shabina Ariff, associate professor in the department of paediatrics and child health and section of neonatal intensive care unit.
One of the key messages of the events is to invest in the nurturing of children from the early ages in a well-designed ecosystem that provides them conducive opportunities to grow, thrive, and succeed. Dr Salman Kirmani, chair, division of women and child health, Dr Lumaan Sheikh, chair of department of obstetrics and gynaecology and Dr Ali Faisal Saleem, service line chief of children’s hospital said AKU believe in investing in every initiative that helps support children and their families and endorsed joining in multidisciplinary efforts for supporting the global cause.