KARACHI, Feb 17: Country’s paediatricians on Sunday called upon the government to desist from allocating any aid or grant for arms purchase and other non-poverty alleviating bindings, while demanding greater share of funds for promotion of education, provision of potable water, sanitation, planned housing, clean air and healthy environment for the people.

Members of the Pakistan Paediatrics Association, while winding up their four-day 16th international biennial conference, also renewed their vows to look after all aspects of child rights, be it a regular citizen situation or refugee displacement, with or without parents. Emphasis was also placed on strengthening of vaccination programme and eradication of polio.

In the first plenary session on ‘child rights’, Dr Marian Jacobs from South Africa highlighted the global issues relating to child rights. She discussed the dilemma of increasing prevalence of HIV in children, because of sexual abuse.

Dr David Southhall spoke on the ‘impact of war and displacement on child health’, and mentioned moving details of misery and disease afflicting children under such circumstances, especially referring to those in recent Afghanistan. He said despite resolutions and commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by all but two countries, there were continuing abuses of children as a result of adults’ armed conflicts.

To reduce this abuse, he suggested measures like tighter arms control with inter-country arms sales managed by the UN, relief poverty in countries prone to conflicts and provision of international systems designed to give special care to mothers and children under such situations. Dr Carroll Long of Unicef drew a detailed account of child rights situation in Pakistan. She said as children did not have any influence on development and political processes, it is the obligation of the state and the civil society to ensure that key issues such as rights and healthcare of children are given top priority.

The conference was attended by 32 delegates from as many countries and 1,000 participants from various parts of the country.