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Pakistan Association of the Blind (PAB) Monday sought four per cent reserved seats for special persons in the Parliament in the upcoming constitutional package, expected to be announced soon.

Addressing a press conference at the National Press Club here, General Secretary PAB Aamir Ashraf said that according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) records, 10 per cent population of the country comprises persons with disabilities but they have no representative in the Parliament.

“There are reserved seats for minorities and women in the National Assembly and a bill for the protection of women rights has also been approved from both the houses, but no one has paid heed to the grievances of the special persons,” he commented.

Highlighting another important issue, President PAB Qari Saad Noor claimed that in a meeting with a delegation of PAB, Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani had approved a grant of Rs10 million for the welfare of the members of Blind Association, which was not been provided to the Association yet.

He added that the prime minister had also promised to provide a two-kanal plot for establishing a Community Centre for the Association in the federal capital but Capital Development Authority has not provided the land so far.

Aamir Arshad informed that on the PM’s order regarding regularisation of employees working on contract basis, Ministry of Social Welfare & Special Education regularised the services of 32 special persons in November 2008 but after that, no persons has been benefited. He also demanded the promotion of Braille employees on same grades since their appointment.

He also asked for providing the facility of duty free vehicles for blind persons as granted to other persons with disabilities. Aamir Arshad announced that if their demands would not be fulfilled till March 31, PAB would start a protest till the approval of their demands.

Source: http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=225654

Filed under: News from Pakistan on February 23rd, 2010 | No Comments »

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani launched the first three-day nationwide polio immunisation campaign of the year 2010 at the PM House here on Monday. The campaign will reach 31 million children under the age of five with anti-polio drops; 87,000 teams have been constituted for the purpose.

“There is highest level of commitment to the cause of polio eradication in Pakistan. I am personally monitoring the drive to ensure that health officials perform to the optimal level and miss no child during any campaign,” the PM said in his address at the launching ceremony.

“Since February 2008, when the Prime Minister’s Action Plan on Polio was launched, there has been tangible progress in the anti-polio drive with the involvement of sectors beyond health,” the PM stated, referring to the engagement of organisations like Nadra, National Highways and Motorways Police, Traffic Police, Pakistan Post, media organisations and most recently the telecom sector. “In the current round, the country’s largest mobile phone operator is helping us track and reach missed children. Now parents can send a text message reporting missed areas for children to the National Polio Control Cell and an anti-polio team will be dispatched to their homes within an hour,” he remarked.

Flanked by Minister for Health Makhdoom Shahabuddin and other stalwarts working in the health sector, the PM administered anti-polio drops to a few children.

Pakistan has reported five cases of polio so far this year. Of these, two are in Bajaur Agency, and one each from Quetta, Karachi and Peshawar. The country closed 2009 with 89 cases, of which 49 were from NWFP/Fata, their majority from security risk areas. The anti-polio campaign has resumed in Swat after three years and campaigns are now being held in areas cleared by security forces.

Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan have been polio-free for 8 and 10 years, respectively. Global experts have highlighted the possibility of success, if remaining management issues are overcome and the district leadership is held accountable when it comes to the achievement of immunisation targets.

Four nationwide campaigns and four special campaigns in high-risk areas will be conducted in 2010 alongside establishment of polio task forces under the leadership of the Chief Secretaries to promote accountability at the district level. The programme shall continue to develop contingency plans in insecure and security-compromised areas of the country.
Source: http://thenews.jang.com.pk/print1.asp?id=224418

Filed under: News from Pakistan on February 17th, 2010 | No Comments »

Honouring a commitment made only a day ago, the rector of Bahria University, Vice Admiral (r) M. Haroon, here on Monday announced award of jobs and scholarships for three disabled persons.

The rector articulated his intention of offering employment opportunities and scholarships to persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Bahria University while addressing a Disability Equality Training session. The session was arranged in collaboration with the American Institute for Research (AIR) at the university’s Leadership Development Centre on Sunday.

As a follow-up to the commitment, a Board at Bahria University has approved the appointment of the physically disabled Abdul Manan in the university’s department of statistics. Another wheelchair-bound graduate, Abrar Hussain, has been offered the position of a teaching assistant at the university. Ali Shabbar, who is visually impaired, has been offered to continue his research degree in Supply Chain Management.

The head of the Leadership Development Centre, Junaid Kiyani, has pledged his unconditional support for disabled persons who are competent and interested in pursuing higher education at Bahria University.

Source: http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=224423

Filed under: News from Pakistan on February 16th, 2010 | No Comments »

Thursday, February 11, 2010. Pakistan needs to enforce greater accountability in order to obtain better results from current efforts directed towards polio eradication, the director of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Dr. Bruce Aylward, communicated at a meeting of the Inter-Provincial Coordination Committee on Polio here on Wednesday.

The meeting, which was called to take stock of the polio situation in Pakistan and to endorse strategies for 2010 to hit the virus hard in low-performing areas, was presided over by Minister for Health Makhdoom Shahabuddin. The health ministers of Sindh, NWFP and AJK, and health secretaries of all the four provinces attended the meeting, along side global and national experts on polio.

Dr. Bruce Aylward hoped that the introduction of the new bivalent polio vaccine this year would play a major role in polio eradication. He urged all parties in security-compromised areas in Afghanistan and Pakistan should be engaged in the fight. “”The Taliban now support polio immunisation in parts of Afghanistan, he remarked before moving on to share how the adoption of new approaches in poorly performing countries like Nigeria have started showing results. “The impact of involvement of sub-national and local leaders during the past year is beginning to show,” he said. Dr. Aylward said the major milestones for polio are interruption of all new importations of the virus by mid-2010 and interruption of all re-established viruses by the end of 2010.

Dr. Aylward urged Pakistan to enhance accountability. At this, Shahabuddin suggested that the EDOs Health, who are responsible for implementation at the district level, should be held accountable. “We need to urge and motivate the EDOs to deliver on polio eradication,” he remarked. The key remaining challenges in polio eradication include lack of access to some parts of the country and coming to grips with management and service delivery issues in areas that are accessible.

Secretary Health Khushnood Lashari recommended that a mechanism be established to track implementation of plans under the leadership of the provincial chief secretaries and DCOs at the district level.

Briefing the meeting on Pakistan’s polio situation, the manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation Dr. Altaf Bosan said the government’s commitment to polio eradication must now be directed towards addressing issues like lack of accountability at the implementation level. He emphasised the need for formulating district-specific plans tailored to local needs, culture and ground realities, particularly for areas marked by unrest or accessibility issues.

Pakistan has a total of 15 highest-risk districts for polio. Special plans have been developed and finalised for improved coverage in these districts.

Source:- http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=223595

Filed under: News from Pakistan on February 11th, 2010 | No Comments »

Wednesday, February 10, 2010. Disabled youth are facing hardships while using roads and pathways in the twin cities due to non-availability of specific facilities for them.

“The Ministry of Youth Affairs (MoYA) should ensure necessary facilities on roads and pathways through out the country so young people with disabilities can move in a safe and convenient manner”, said a social worker Yaqub Khan. “Absence of the required facilities is dangerous and in some cases impossible for youth who use wheelchairs, scooters, and other mobility aids”, he remarked. He said ramps should be built on streets and roads from where disabled persons can enter them. Resurfacing of a street or sidewalk may need some alteration but filling of potholes would require no changes. He said on the existing roads and sidewalks alterations cannot be carried out. However, curb ramps may be constructed at places where a pedestrian walkway intersects a road or sidewalk.

When contacted Secretary Ministry of Youth Affairs told APP that special and handicapped youth may be given same quota in all youth activities as has been approved by the government in respect of Special Education and Rehabilitation of disabled persons.

“Chair accesses and special toilets for the disabled would be made compulsory in construction of buildings in future,” he said. He said that special quota and opportunity to the disabled for studying in all educational institutions including those for higher education would be given both at home and abroad.

Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=223530

Filed under: News from Pakistan on February 10th, 2010 | No Comments »

DPOs national meeting today Tuesday, February 09, 2010 Our correspondent Islamabad The agenda priorities for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) will be translated into an action plan in the second National Meeting of Disabled Persons Organizations (DPOs) today (Tuesday). The purpose of the plan of action is to form the basis for further engagement with policymakers, donors, government and other stakeholders. The PwDs in Pakistan have been advocating for their rights from the grassroots to district and provincial levels, and the need for collective efforts at national level was always highlighted to mainstream disability through existing laws. Recognizing the needs, Handicap International Pakistan had organized a meeting on January 16 to review the National Plan of Action and derive five points including accessibility, political rights, implementation and modern technology as the DPOs priority agenda for the year 2010-12. Handicap International Pakistan is part of the International Federation, operating since 2006 and committed to the rights of PwDs to provide long-term support and emergency relief through Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) and Disability & Disaster Risk Reduction (DDRR) projects in partnership with DPOs and government of Pakistan that include rehabilitation support for inclusion in all aspects of daily life, and the elimination of preventable causes of disability. The organization introduced a world vision where all PwDs can fully access and exercise their human rights. It is the first time in the history of the disability movement in Pakistan that DPOs agreed on a common campaign for the implementation of the National Plan of Action.

Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=223228

Filed under: News from Pakistan on February 9th, 2010 | No Comments »

Physical disability can be sidelined provided one has the will and determination. A brilliant example of this is the life and academic achievements of a deaf girl from Lahore who is doing PhD in special education from Johns Hopkins, a prestigious university in the USA.

In her message from USA, she said that she was thankful to God and everyone in her family, friends, professors and those who have been in her life for support and made things easier to her to excel in her studies. According to the data provided to this correspondent from her near and dear ones, Zara Hussain, a deaf but outstanding student, daughter of Iftikhar Hussain and Salma was born in Lahore in 1981.

When she was about a year old, her parents had discovered that she was deaf. It was not easy for them to accept this bitter reality, especially when Zara was their first child. They consulted many physicians to get her cured but to no avail. She was admitted to a school for primary education where she was only deaf child in her class and it was difficult for the teachers to treat her normally as they used to do so with other child students.

Zara did her high schooling from W.T. Woodson School (USA) where her father was posted in the Pakistani mission. She passed her high school with high grades and won ‘Role Model Award for American Deaf Children.’ She also learned CUED Speech, a system of communication used with and among deaf or hard of hearing people. She was also editor of the children magazine in her school at Virginia. She also wrote a guide for the deaf children studying at the American schools that was highly appreciated by the teachers and is now being used as a ‘Handbook for Deaf Children.’

When her family moved back to Pakistan, she got admission in Kinnaird College, Lahore, where she graduated with her major subjects including English Literature, Journalism and Psychology. After completing her bachelors, she got admission in the Punjab University and chose special education as her subject for masters. She topped all the four semesters and in recognition of her achievements former Punjab chief Minister Ch. Pervaiz Elahi awarded her a gold medal and cash prize worth Rs100,000.

Zara also represented Pakistan in ‘Annual Disability Conference 2004’ held in Washington DC. Despite resistance from the organizers, she displayed a stall through personal efforts, using only the ‘Punjab University, Pakistan’ as a label.

Though her mother wanted her to go for Information Technology or Computer Sciences but she got an HEC scholarship and went to the United States for doing her PhD in special education.

Her hobbies include socializing, especially with those people who work for the cause of special persons. Much of her time is utilized sitting on the computer and browsing the Internet and writing proposals for well-being of the deaf community.

She has a plan to set up an institute for the deaf community after completion of her PhD, initially in Islamabad and Lahore and then to spread its branches across the country with the aim to provide level playing field to help them shine in their areas of study and contribute effectively in the national development.

The academic achievements of this brave and talented young student needs attention of the government that must acknowledge and encourage such youths that can become a role model for many others in the society.

Sourec: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=223228

Filed under: News from Pakistan on February 9th, 2010 | No Comments »

KOLKATA - Participants from South Asian countries will deliberate on how to secure the rights of physically challenged women in mainstream society at a round table in Kolkata Tuesday.

“Representatives from South Asian nations - Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives - will participate in the round table discussion. They will share their experiences on the obstacles they face in their everyday lives in the form of gender discrimination and social inequalities,” Association for Women with Disabilities (AWWD) director Kuhu Das said.
“The AWWD took up an ambitious project, Creating Spaces for Women with Disabilities, in 2007 with international partners like Healthlink Worldwide and collaborated with like-minded organisations in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh,” she said.
The programme, funded by Great Britain’s Department for International Development (DFID), was designed for the physically challenged women from across the South Asian region to help them win equal rights and fight against discrimination.
She said: “Over 200 women with disabilities have been trained in leadership skills across south Asia in the past three years.
“We’re expecting that this platform would open up opportunities for a dialogue on issues concerning the disabled women and girls.”
Das said participants have been invited from across a broad spectrum of government, social service, development and funding agencies.

Filed under: News from South Asia on January 30th, 2010 | No Comments »

The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has verified as many as 2,241,434 application forms of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) enabling the government to distribute an amount of Rs26.10 million among the poor and deserving segment of the society.

The Authority received a total 3,262,730 form referred by Parliamentarians, out of these some 2,241,434 applicants were found eligible while 496,075 were ineligible, official sources said adding that 525,221 applications were rejected by the Authority due to incomplete information and other reasons.

Under the programme each 8,000 forms were given to each MNA, Senator and MPA for distribution in their respective constituencies while in AJK 100,000 forms and in Gilgit-Baltistan 50,000 forms were distributed respectively through Members Legislative Assembly.

It was informed by sources that BISP is also implementing Emergency Relief Package for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of Fata, Swat/ Malakand division and earthquake affectees of Balochistan and victims of terrorism.

Sources said that data on bomb blast and terrorism attack victims has been obtained and benefits from the programme will be paid to the next of kin in case of a deceased person and the victim in case of injury.

Regarding affected families of Fata and Bajaur, they said that an amount of Rs28 million has been paid to 3,965 families from FATA and Bajaur, while an amount of Rs26 million has been paid to 3,729 earthquake affected families in Balochistan.

They told this agency that 2,774 families belonging to Mohammand Agency are getting financial support through BISP.
Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=221642

Filed under: News from Pakistan on January 30th, 2010 | No Comments »

Source: http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=221201

Filed under: News from Pakistan on January 28th, 2010 | No Comments »