New Delhi, May 8 (IANS) NITI Aayog, in partnership with IIM Ahmedabad, the Gates Foundation and the Gujarat government, organised a workshop to launch State and District reports on Sustainable Development Goal 5 and to push for district‑level action on gender equality, an official statement said on Friday.The technical sessions focused on strengthening SDG 5 monitoring and evidence systems, women’s economic empowerment and social empowerment of women, the statement from NITI Aayog said.State…
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Islamabad, May 7 (IANS) As the polio virus continues to pose a major public health threat in Pakistan, five environmental samples collected in Karachi have recently tested positive for the virus, local media reported, citing a senior health department official. Speaking at a consultation held at Sindh on Wednesday, Pakistan’s Emergency Operations Centre Coordinator Sheheryar Memon said that five environmental samples in Karachi recently tested positive for the poliovirus, stressing the urgent ne…
Jaipur, May 6 (IANS) Unicef India Representative Cynthia McCaffrey met Rajasthan Chief Secretary V. Srinivas at the Government Secretariat on Wednesday, with discussions centred on strengthening collaboration in key sectors including health, women and child development, nutrition, education and child rights protection.During the meeting, the Chief Secretary highlighted that the state government is actively working across sectors to realise the vision of a “Developed Rajasthan” under the lead…
Kabul, May 6 (IANS) A mother dies from preventable complications every hour in Afghanistan, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said, showcasing a health system still struggling to protect women during pregnancy and childbirth, local media reported on Wednesday. In a statement issued on International Day of the Midwife, the WHO said the maternal mortality rate in Afghanistan remains among the highest across the world, at 521 deaths per 100,000 live births, even as access to basic care has improv…
Islamabad, May 5 (IANS) A public health emergency is unfolding in Pakistan as a recent joint study by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and Pakistan’s Ministry of National Health Services has revealed that four in every 10 children aged 12 to 36 months in high-risk urban areas carry lead in their blood. The cities surveyed in the report, including Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Rawalpindi, are not remote or marginal spaces but economic and population cent…
Dhaka, May 4 (IANS) At least 10 more people died from measles and measles-like symptoms in Bangladesh, raising the total number of confirmed and suspected deaths from the disease to 294, amid a worsening health crisis across the country, local media reported. According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the deaths were reported in the 24 hours leading up to Sunday morning.The DGHS stated that the number of confirmed measles deaths reached 50 on Sunday, following one additional…
Islamabad, May 3 (IANS) Lead was found in the blood of four in 10 children aged 12-36 months living in seven high-risk areas of Pakistan, according to a new study by the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, and UNICEF.The UNICEF stated that lead exposure can stunt growth, cause anaemia, and weaken the immune system, while also lowering IQ, reducing attention span, and impairing memory, raising the risk of learning difficulties and behavioural problems.”Several like…
Dhaka, May 2 (IANS) Bangladesh is currently grappling with a severe measles epidemic with over 32,000 suspected cases and more than 250 deaths, mostly young children, having been recorded since mid-March. The outbreak has triggered chaotic scenes in hospitals across the country, with Dhaka’s Infectious Disease Hospital overwhelmed by children last month — some gasping for breath and others lying motionless — while bed shortages forced many to be treated on the floor, a report highlighted o…
Kabul, April 30 (IANS) Former Afghanistan President, Hamid Karzai, on Thursday raised serious concerns over a recent analysis by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) which warned that Afghanistan risks losing up to 20,000 women teachers and 5,400 healthcare workers by 2030 amid continuing restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment in the country. The UN agency report also indicated that if the ban persists until 2030, more than two million girls in…
Kabul, April 28 (IANS) The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday warned that Afghanistan risks losing up to 20,000 women teachers and 5,400 healthcare workers by 2030 amid continuing restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment in the country.In its latest analysis titled “The Cost of Inaction on Girls’ Education and Women’s Labour Force Participation in Afghanistan”, the UNICEF said that female representation in the civil services fell f…