UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has urged the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to increase its efforts to meet the needs of children in humanitarian crises, including natural disasters, conflicts, and situations of foreign occupation.
Hadiqa Qureshi, a representative from Pakistan, speaking at the UNICEF’s Executive Board meeting, urged international donors to support UNICEF with adequate and sustainable funding so that it can combat the unimaginable effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on children as well as those brought on by war and climate change.
The Executive Board reviews UNICEF activities and approves its policies, country programs, and budgets. It comprises 36 members, representing the UN’s five regional groups of member states. Its work is coordinated by a Bureau comprising the President and four Vice-Presidents, each officer representing one of the five regional groups.
“Despite all the challenges the world is facing today, we note with appreciation how UNICEF has responded to both human-made crises and natural disasters,” Ms. Qureshi, third secretary at the Pakistan Mission to the UN, told the Board.
As a shining example, she gave UNICEF’s assistance to Pakistan during its most recent floods caused by climate change. With its field offices and four operational hubs, UNICEF was a leader in sectoral coordination for the WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) Programme, the nutrition and education sectors, and child protection. It also served as a frontline in the immediate need’s assessments.
Due to COVID, climate change, and conflicts, the Pakistani delegate said nearly 50 million children had been pushed back into extreme poverty, increasing their total number to over 400 million.
Hadiqa added, “Our children are not just the present but our future; the future we all aspire to make better children must therefore be at the center of our strategy to achieve growth and equity in all the world nations.”
—APP
