ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday underscored the need for devising a comprehensive strategy to address the challenges being faced by the country in the health and education sectors.
The President expressed these views during a presentation by United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on its initiatives in Pakistan.
Expressing concern over the alarming number of out of school children, he said over 23 million children were out of school and urged the need for thinking out of box solutions to enroll them.
He said educating these children was really a major challenge that could not be addressed only with present bricks and mortar system but it required the use of digital and online learning methods.
The UNICEF country representative Abdullah Abdulaziz Fadil apprised the meeting about the impacts of floods on children and the support extended by UNICEF to the children of flood-affected areas.
He said 134,779 children with severe malnutrition had been enrolled for treatment, besides immunizing 1,194,940 children against measles.
It was apprised that UNICEF established 1232 temporary learning centres and helped 180,889 children to continue their learning in a safe and protected environment through various modalities.
He also shared 5 years UNICEF program (2023-27) to help strengthen the education and health sectors of Pakistan. The President highly appreciated the contribution made by UNICEF towards the health and education sectors of Pakistan.