Peshawar: Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Population Welfare , Tufail Anjum has said that provincial government is going to introduce an act to prevent marriages of children under the age of 18 .
He expressed these views while chairing a meeting organized UNFPA here on Tuesday. He said that necessary legislation would also be enacted to ensure its effective implementation. Child marriage is an important social issue, and the government is taking effective measures to address it with the cooperation of all relevant institutions, he said.
Secretary Population Welfare Department Aneela Mahfooz Durrani, Director General Population Welfare Abdullah, Director Planning Imran Shah, Director Administration Salman, UNFPA National Program Specialist Dr. Jameel Ahmad Chaudhry, and Provincial Program Coordinator Maha Jabeen Qazi attended the meeting.
UNFPA officials briefed the meeting on ongoing activities in the health and population welfare sectors in the province and the organization’s support in these areas. The meeting was informed that UNFPA is currently spending Rs. 65 million on health and population welfare initiatives, while it is also providing technical assistance to Population Welfare Department as well as support to address important social issues such as child marriages.
CM aide said that government is taking comprehensive measures to ensure balanced population growth, protect the health of mothers and children and raise public awareness.
Appreciating UNFPA’s cooperation, he said that joint efforts by the government and international organizations would further strengthen ongoing initiatives in the fields of population welfare, health and social protection.
He directed the relevant authorities to accelerate the process of proposed legislation for preventing child marriages and take all necessary measures in this regard.
