Lack of facilities for “special children” in Sindh, Pakistan

The Sindh High Court has directed the provincial authorities of the Sindh province to provide facilities to all physically-challenged children. The Court thereby expressed its concern over registration of only 3,653 special children out of a total of 300,000 present in the province. 

Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon formed a committee to visit rehabilitation and autism centres in Sindh to consider the available facilities, building conditions as well as teaching staff. The committee also examined the medical facilities present at such centres and if those health departments were offering effective treatment to children, such as major surgeries.

According to the secretary of the department of empowerment of persons with disabilities (DEPD), Akhtar Bugti, there were a total of 300,000 physically-challenged children, but only 3,653 of them were registered in rehabilitation centres across the province. The Court saw this as a pure denial of the rights of these children and recognized that the majority of physically-challenged children were left without the necessary help. An awareness campaign must be held as provided under the act about such institutions and healthcare facilities, urged the bench (Tanoli).

Source: The Express Tribune, 2017https://tribune.com.pk/story/1496224/special-children-cadd-hands-five-buses. 

Tanoli, I. (2021, September 17) “SHC orders Sindh govt to provide facilities to all special children” in Dawn: https://www.dawn.com/news/1646844.