KARACHI: Senior pediatrician and child rights activist Prof Ayesha Mehnaz has taken strong exception to non-functional Child Protection Committees (CPCs) in public sector hospitals of Sindh.
Talking to APP here on Monday, she said these committees constituted, a few years ago, in no less than eight different hospitals in Karachi and one each in Larkana and Sukkur were lying dormant.
“Traumatised child victims of varied categories of abuse are thus no more provided with essentially needed assistance and support,” she said.
These hospital-based CPCs comprised a psychologist, child specialist, social welfare officer, and medico-legal officer so as to not only ensure timely medical assessment of the victim but also prompt and efficient intervention.
“A holistic approach was adopted to safeguard physical, emotional, social and legal well-being of the effected children”, said the senior doctor.
She lamented that the non-implementation of effective measures to make the committees functional, adding that the support was needed for smooth functioning of these essential committees.
“Presently none of these committees are working,” she said in reply to a question and mentioned that no extra financial resources were needed to run them.
“The committees should have been facilitated so as to streamline professional obligations of its associated members”, she concluded.