The workshop was organized by the Lahore Press Club in collaboration with a non-government organization (NGO) working for creating awareness of critical issues relating to the media and journalistic ethics.
The focus of the workshop was to promote ethical reporting on issues relating to children who remain the most vulnerable segment of the society and are exposed to victimization and harassment even in places considered safe for them. One of the key issues highlighted by the speakers remained issues relating to their health care, especially polio, which continues to remain a major problem in Pakistan, one of the only three countries of the world where this disease continues to cripple children below the age of five years.
The speakers highlighted the fact that, in 2012, as many as 22 polio cases were reported in various parts of Pakistan with the highest number of victims hailing from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA where a total of 15 cases have been brought to the notice of authorities. In Sindh, the number of reported polio cases is three while in Balochistan and Punjab provinces two polio cases each have been reported. One of the major reasons for the polio cases in Sindh remains the influx of internally displaced people while in KP and FATA, continued conflict situation is the reason.
Speaking on the occasion LPC president Arshad Ansari said that, being the leading journalists club of the country, it has always taken initiatives for the training of media personnel and safeguarding the rights of citizens. He said that the Journalists Forum against Polio would play their part in creating awareness regarding the alarming situation of growing number of polio cases in the country.
Pakistani media has to play its role in bringing issues, like polio, into public debate, he said. It has been researched that thousands of children missed their polio in the past couple of years with the worst affected areas being in FATA and Baluchistan, a high number of IDPs influx into Sindh has resulted in increased number of polio cases from Sindh, especially in Karachi.
Pakistan reported 198 polio cases in 2011 whereas 23 were in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 59 in FATA, 73 in Balochistan, one in Gilgit Baltistan, nine in Punjab and 33 in Sindh.
The trainers included senior journalist Amir Zia, The News International Karachi editor Puruesh Chaudhry, Centre for International Media Ethics Ambassador to Pakistan, Amir Jahangir, CEO Mishal Pakistan, Dr Asif Ahmed from WHO Marium Zaidi and Azmat Abbas from UNICEF Pakistan.
Amir Zia, speaking on the occasion, said that children issues should be covered with extreme care and sensitivity ensuring their safety and privacy. He emphasized the role of a journalist in creating awareness and fighting myths, which curbs basic child rights and even denies them basic immunizations, including polio drops, in many parts of Pakistan.
In the presentation on the health indicators, Amir Jahangir, CEO Mishal Pakistan and Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, shared the importance of health indicators and how journalists could benefit from the WHO’s world health indicators, UN’s MDGs and world Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index.
Puruesh Chaudhry, Ambassador to Pakistan from the Centre for International Media Ethics, a Brussels based media think thank, highlighted the importance of media ethics in reporting on child sensitive issues.
The world health assembly declared polio as a global emergency during the recently held meeting in Geneva, where the government of Pakistan declared polio as a national emergency in January 2011. The journalists against polio forum was launched by Peshawar Press Club president Saiful Islam Saifi earlier this month and the journalists from Quetta and the Karachi Press Clubs have also extended their cooperation on this.
No comments:
Post a Comment