Child Mental Health
Child psychiatrist, Dr Syed Arshad Husain, from the University of Missouri, reminded us that children are the conscience and future of a nation. He reviewed the history of childhood, assessed the state of children’s health, mental health and educational opportunities in Pakistan, and argued for commitment of more resources to child mental health.

The care and attention expressed for the children become the most elegant measure of that nation’s regard for itself…Societies who neglect their children’s welfare are doomed to fail as a nation. This is why the World Summit for Children agreed that children are innocent, vulnerable and dependent. They are also curious, active and full of hope. Their time should be one of joy, and peace, of playing, learning and growing. Their future should be shaped in harmony and cooperation.

Child Nutrition
Based on a long career within government, championing improved nutritional status of children, as well as adults, Dr Mushtaq Khan, from the Centre for Research on Poverty Reduction and Income Distribution (CRPRID), Islamabad, argued:

Malnutrition is both one of the consequences of social injustice and one of the factors contributing to its maintenance. It bears hardest on small children. Contributing to the massive death toll among the young ones, and together with other adverse environmental factors, it interferes with growth and development of the survivors. It reduces their capacity to learn during childhood and learn during adulthood. Measures that will improve the nutrition of mothers before and during pregnancy, and of infants and young children, will reduce morbidity, will improve the effectiveness of expenditures on education, will reduce the cost of health care, and will increase the work productivity of adults.