April 8, 2006	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 9, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, April 7: The Ministry of Women Development, the national focal machinery for the advancement of women in the country, is dominated by men. The National Assembly was informed on Friday that there were 98 men working in the ministry against 16 women. The total number of employees of the ministry was 114.

A question in this regard was raised by MMA member Samia Raheela Qazi.

The ministry was responsible for formulation of policies and laws to meet the needs of women ensuring that their interests and needs were adequately represented in public policy formulation.

Most of the senior management positions, including the office of the federal secretary of the ministry were occupied by men. The senior most position presently occupied by a woman was that of a director general.

Of the 20 positions of officers in the ministry, 15 were men. This disproportionately high number of men in the women’s ministry to some extent explains why different steps taken by the ministry “have had very little impact on the promotion of welfare of women and children requiring special care.” This has been admitted by the ministry in its official website.

HEPATITIS: In response to another question by Sayeda Farhana Khalid Banori, the National Assembly was told that the total number of hepatitis patients registered uptill June 2005 in the country was 1,56,095.

Although the health ministry didn’t specify which specific type of hepatitis these patients were suffering from, but it can be safely assumed that it referred to hepatitis-B and C.

This figure was based on the National Health Management Information System Data, which accounts for almost 15 per cent of the population. The data had been collected from first level health care facilities.

Federal health minister stated that there was no reported incident of spread of hepatitis-B and HIV/AIDS through the reuse of disposable syringes in hospitals.

POPULATION CONTROL: Replying to a question, parliamentary secretary for population welfare Donia Aziz said that the government was targeting to achieve a population growth rate of 1.2 per cent by 2020.

She said the country’s clergy has been actively involved in population control programmes and some 1,300 clerics have been trained in family planning.