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SIALKOT, April 6: The International Labour Organisation has registered 50 per cent reduction in child labour in the targeted areas of the district through the provision of education and other support services to the children working in surgical industry.
ILO Project Manager Muhammad Binyameen claimed while giving a briefing to a visiting team of independent evaluators during a special meeting held by the Surgical Instruments Manufacturers Association of Pakistan here on Thursday.
He said the ILO had also successfully raised awareness about child labour issues among the stake-holders of surgical industry and partners, and initiated action to address health and safety problems at work places in the district under the special programme of the organisation.
He said the ILO and SIMA were contributing towards progressive elimination of child labour from surgical industry.
He said under the second phase of the ILO programme, about 1,000 children working in various departments of surgical instruments’ manufacturing would be withdrawn, 200 would be targeted for prevention from work and 180 (15 per cent) would be mainstreamed.
Earlier, a team of independent evaluators led by Ms Saima Saghir evaluated the pace of ILO’s child labour elimination programme in surgical industry.
The team expressed satisfaction over the programme execution and stressed the need for developing close working relationship between the manufacturers, vendors and surgical exporters for elimination of the menace.
MEDICINES: The district government has failed to allocate funds for the purchase of medicines for animals.
It is learnt that there has been no medicine in veterinary hospitals, dispensaries, centres and laboratories for the last 11 months. The cattle owners have to buy medicines from their pocket.
Sources told this correspondent on condition of anonymity on Thursday that the livestock department has no budget for purchasing.
They said Rs2.9 million allocated last year for the purchase of medicine had already lapsed but the Sialkot district government has not yet allocated funds this year.
They said the last year’s stock of vaccines has also finished. They feared that if an epidemic was spread the department would not be able to tackle the situation.
The Punjab chief minister had taken serious notice of non-availability of medicines in the district in August last. But no practical effort has yet been made by the provincial livestock department and Sialkot district government to overcome the crisis.
The Punjab livestock secretary and director-general had conducted a departmental probe but to no avail.
