KARACHI, Nov 12: Sindh Governor Mohammedmian Soomro has said the NGOs have put in a lot of work for socio-economic development of the country as well as the Sindh province.

“In the development of our country the significant role of NGOs, especially of women’s organizations, needs special mention, he said while inaugurating a one-day conference of NGOs on the identification of priorities for NGOs’ work for women and children in Sindh, here on Monday.

The conference was jointly organized by the Directorate of Social Welfare and Unicef Sindh.

The governor said in Pakistan and Sindh NGOs had played an important role in creating awareness of education, health, population planning, legal aid and child rights.

The NGOs had also contributed to bring about a change in perception and policy matters with regard to political issues, he said adding they had also been playing their role in social activities.

He said since the NGOs had their networks at the grassroots level, they had often demonstrated abilities of mobilization in areas where the government faced difficulties.

Mr Soomro said the government and NGOs have been doing a lot together, but we still have a long way to go.

“We have been fighting against social ills and undesirable traditional practices, but many constraints block our efforts,” he added.

Child abuse and child labour issues of the Convention on the Rights of the Child have been well highlighted and some NGO forums are active in propagating and implementing changes, he observed saying that education for all is being targeted but we are far from any noticeable change at the level of secondary education. The birth registration system is improving. Juvenile jails and the justice system have undergone scrutiny and a positive change in attitude is perceptible.

He said some of the issues were yet to be attended with better education such as hygiene, safe water supply and primary health care, improvement in the overall health system and better communication on the rights of children. However, the progress achieved in these spheres were commendable.

Governor Soomro said in developing countries like ours there are a number of ways in which social work can be expanded. Development programmes of a nation require participation from the community and its mobilization, thus the NGOs have a defined role with their roots in the community, and they can play a key role in the development of society through community participation and mobilization.

“We have to work in various fields, especially those concerning women and children,” he said.

The governor said during the last decade the role of NGOs in government policies and programmes had increased and many policies and programmes had been designed and formulated by the provincial and federal governments after due consultation.

The formation of the National Plan of Action (NPA) and the Beijing Followup activities were examples of collaborative efforts of government-NGO partnership.

He said the Internet could be used for promoting ideas, publishing and communicating with support groups.

The governor pointed out that for improving the status of women and children at the global level, Pakistan had signed several international commitments to protect the basic rights and ensure gender equality of women. These included the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The platform for action was signed at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, and most important of all, Pakistan had acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

In Sindh, the implementation of the NPA was a step towards the followup of the Beijing Platform for Action, and the rights of women to equity and equality had been accepted by all countries, including Pakistan, at an international conference, the governor said.

He said Pakistan being a signatory to the UN Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women was bound to provide legal cover to women who were being discriminated against at all levels. — APP