PESHAWAR, Dec 3: To ensure protection of rights of children in need, the provincial government has approved establishment of child protection centres in four divisions of the province.

In the first phase, these centres will provide deserving children with education, sports and other such facilities, while in the next phase such centres will also be set up in all districts of the province under the recently enacted Child Protection Act.

The KP government has also launched a ‘Bomb Blast Victims Project’ for physical and psychological rehabilitation of children and women affected by bomb blasts and other terrorism activities.

Provincial minister for social welfare and special education Sitara Ayaz said this during a meeting with officials of Swiss Development Corporation (SDC) here on Friday.

According to a handout, the head of Islamabad-based SDC Andre Huber, its national program officer, a representative of SPARK and officers concerned attended the meeting.

Expressing interest of the SDC in the task of child protection in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), the SDC head said that they would also initiate projects in rural development and child protection sectors.

The minister assured the SDC officials of government’s cooperation to make such projects a success. She said that under this commitment the provincial assembly had recently passed a comprehensive Child Protection Act.

Ms Ayaz said that besides the establishment of a Child Protection Commission and child protection units at district level, a helpline project had been initiated in Peshawar, Mardan and Swabi districts to provide emergency help to children and women. Earlier, director social welfare Sajjad Ahmad apprised the SDC officials of activities, achievements and future plans of his department.