The Senate Standing Committee on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety on Friday recommended to the federal government to make practicable arrangements to ensure that minor children with stunted growth and malnutrition are treated by specialised paediatricians instead of general practitioners.
The committee met under the chair of Jehanzeb Jamaldini and expressed serious concern over the absence of a concrete and workable mechanism to address the issue of stunted growth and malnutrition among the newborns.
"Unfortunately, this issue has not been addressed the way it should have. We need specialized physicians, specialized team of paramedics and specialized healthcare facilities to respond to the challenges posed by stunted growth and malnutrition. We need to have a focused approach instead of making generalized statements about social safety measures taken for the children," Jamaldini told the top officials of different government social safety institutions who attended the meeting.
The government representatives, however, passed the buck on the provinces. They told the committee that the issues like malnutrition fall under the purview of health which, they said, is a provincial subject.
Secretary Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Shaista Sohail, Secretary Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Ali Raza Bhutta and Chief Executive Officer Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) Qazi Asmat Isa briefed the committee about the federal government's social safety programs.
The committee cited statistics suggesting that the 500,000 people in Pakistan have gone below poverty line only during the last one year and many have lost employment. The committee members also pointed out inadequate measures taken under Ehsaas programme to address the issue of child labour despite the fact that the federal government claims that Ehsaas programme is the "largest social safety initiative in the history of Pakistan."
The Senate panel also recommended that the issue of wide disparity of funds between the BISP and Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal should also be addressed. The committee was briefed that the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASS) has non-development budget of Rs 100 million. The committee was told that under the PPAF, 500 digital hubs are being created.
The secretary BISP told the meeting that last survey conducted by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) about the state of poverty in 2015-16 suggested that 24.6 per cent Pakistani population is living below poverty line and the next survey is being contemplated.