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ISLAMABAD: On World Children&rsquo;s Day, we review steps taken by Pakistan to ensure the welfare of its children in 2025: enacting legislation to protect minors from early marriage and labour exploitation.&nbsp;UNICEF celebrates the day on November 20 every year, calling on&nbsp;governments worldwide to listen to young people and protect their rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.&nbsp;Groundbreaking child marriage legislationPakistan&rsquo;s most notable achievement came in May, when President Asif Ali Zardari signed the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Act. The law sets 18 as the minimum age for marriage for both boys and girls in the federal capital.&nbsp;Under the new legislation, anyone arranging or facilitating underage marriages, including parents, guardians, and religious officials, faces up to seven years in prison and fines of up to Rs1 million. Courts are empowered to intervene and block planned child marriages, with decisions required within 90 days; marriage registrars must verify ages using national identity cards.&nbsp;Former Minister for Women Development Sherry Rehman called the law &ldquo;transformative.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;This law is not just about banning child marriage. It is a declaration that our girls deserve the right to childhood, to education, to health, and to a life free from coercion and harm.&rdquo;&nbsp;Legal experts noted that a 2023 Federal Shariat Court ruling confirmed that setting the minimum marriage age at 18 complies with Islamic law, helping to counter religious opposition to the reforms.&nbsp;Balochistan raises marriage ageBalochistan became the latest province to raise the legal marriage age to 18 in November, addressing high rates of early marriage in the south-western province. A 2024 Save the Children survey found that nearly two-thirds of marriages in Balochistan occurred before age 18, with 40% before age 16. One in four girls surveyed had their first child before 16, and 60% gave birth before 18.&nbsp;Community members cited cultural beliefs about family honour and economic pressures as drivers of early marriages. Previously, girls could marry at 16, while boys were required to be 18. The province now joins Sindh, which enacted similar protections in 2014.&nbsp;Child labor protectionsIn August, the National Assembly passed the Islamabad Child and Adolescent Labour Bill, which aims to prohibit and regulate child labor in the capital territory. While child labor laws exist at federal and provincial levels, including the Employment of Children Act 1991, the new bill updates provisions to align with international child rights conventions.&nbsp;Government coordination and oversightThe National Commission for Child Welfare and Development, operating under the Ministry of Human Rights, has overseen Pakistan&rsquo;s implementation of UN child rights obligations throughout 2025.&nbsp;Established in 1979 as an advisory body on child issues, the commission coordinates monitoring and facilitates implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, submitting mandatory reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva.&nbsp;UNICEF&rsquo;s message on World Children&rsquo;s DayThis year&rsquo;s theme, &ldquo;My Day, My Rights,&rdquo; encourages communities to listen to children and understand how they experience their rights. According to UNICEF, &ldquo;Children and young people are powerful agents of change, bringing new ideas and perspectives that can help shape a better world for all of us.&rdquo;&nbsp; The organization now works in more than 190 countries, focusing on reaching vulnerable and excluded children.

Culture

Pakistan marked major child-rights progress in 2025, passing new laws against child marriage and labour, with Balochistan raising marriage age and UNICEF urging stronger youth protection.

World Children’s Day 2025: How Pakistan advanced child welfare this year

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said the country was closer than ever to a polio-free Pakistan. Speaking at a ceremony to mark World Polio Eradication Day here on Friday, the PM thanked the polio workers for their hard work and initiatives against the disease. &nbsp; Citing challenges in fighting polio,&nbsp;PM Sharif said polio workers&#39; courage and dedication were commendable. He also thanked international partners, including the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the Bill Gates Foundation, and Saudi Arabia, for their help in Pakistan&#39;s fight against the poliovirus. Shields were distributed to outstanding polio workers from across Pakistan, including Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Sindh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan. Meanwhile, First Lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari said her late mother, Benazir Bhutto, had launched Pakistan&rsquo;s first nationwide polio campaign in 1994. She paid tribute to health workers and female vaccinators working in difficult areas and called on communities to continue supporting vaccination campaigns.&nbsp; Pakistan&rsquo;s fight against polio Four polio campaigns have been launched this year alone, with over 45 million children targeted, the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme, a private-public partnership, reported on October 13, 2025.A new case of wild poliovirus was confirmed this month in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by Pakistan&rsquo;s Regional Reference Laboratory at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad. This brings the total number of cases in 2025 to 30.Wild poliovirus cases in Pakistan have fluctuated since 2005, with significant decreases in some years, though the virus remains endemic.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/fd195175-430b-4c45-833c-be4d68d42e04.png" style="width: 646px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">&nbsp;Sources:<ol style="list-style-type: decimal;"><li style="font-size: 14px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 2;">CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - Reports and surveillance updates on polio cases and eradication efforts in Pakistan and globally.</li><li style="font-size: 14px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 2;">WHO (World Health Organization) - Annual updates and situation reports from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) and other relevant health reports.</li><li style="font-size: 14px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 2;">National Institute of Health (NIH), Pakistan - National surveillance data on polio cases, including regional breakdowns and vaccination coverage.</li><li style="font-size: 14px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 2;">Polio Eradication Programme, Pakistan - Official program reports and statistics on polio cases and immunization campaigns within Pakistan.</li></ol> Pakistan&rsquo;s plan for 2025 focuses on a final push to reach every child and target remaining virus pockets. The strategy includes intensified vaccination campaigns, better operations, and stronger community engagement.The third phase of the program involves:<ul><li style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Door-to-door campaigns vaccinating over 45 million children under five</li><li style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Building community trust by involving parents, caregivers and leaders and tackling misinformation</li><li style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Closing operational gaps and improving campaign quality, including relapse prevention</li><li style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Strengthening surveillance to detect and respond quickly to outbreak </li></ul>These steps reflect Pakistan&rsquo;s resolve to eradicate polio by end of 2025.

Pakistan's PM Shehbaz Sharif presents awards to polio workers for the recognition of their services in the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme, on World Polio Day in Islamabad on 24 October 2025. (PMO)

Health

Pakistan’s plan for 2025 focuses on a final push to reach every child and target remaining virus pockets. 

Pakistan leads fight against polio with stronger vaccination efforts in 2025

ISLAMABAD: Childhood obesity now exceeds underweight among school-aged children and adolescents in every region except sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, according to a new UNICEF report released Wednesday.&nbsp;The report, titled &quot;Feeding Profit: How Food Environments are Failing Children&quot;, warns that one in five children aged 5&ndash;19 is now classified as overweight, with a growing share living with obesity. The total number of affected children and adolescents globally has reached 188 million.&nbsp;Drawing from data in over 190 countries, the report highlights a dramatic rise in obesity rates &mdash; from just 3% a few decades ago to 9.4% today. UNICEF attributes the spike to a global shift away from traditional diets toward cheaper, ultra-processed foods that are high in sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats.&nbsp;&ldquo;Ultra-processed food is increasingly replacing fruits, vegetables, and protein at a time when nutrition plays a critical role in children&rsquo;s growth, cognitive development, and mental health,&rdquo; said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.&nbsp;The report emphasizes that obesity is now more prevalent than underweight in every region except sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where undernutrition remains a critical concern.&nbsp;UNICEF warned that overweight children are at greater risk of developing serious health problems, including insulin resistance, high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even certain cancers.&nbsp;The agency called on governments to regulate unhealthy food environments, limit marketing of junk food to children, and promote access to healthy and affordable diets.

Viral

Global agency warns childhood obesity surpasses underweight globally, except in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Articles tagged with "UNICEF"

World Children’s Day 2025: How Pakistan advanced child welfare this year

Pakistan leads fight against polio with stronger vaccination efforts in 2025

UNICEF warns of rising global childhood obesity rates