NCHD’s Role Important
in Attaining Millennium Development Goals
Above:
Cherie Booth, wife of the British Prime Minister; Dr.
Nasim Ashraf, Chairman, NCHD, and others seen during
the British First Lady’s visit to an NCHD school
in Pakistan |
Mansehra,
Pakistan: The programs initiated by the National Commission
for Human Development (NCHD) are vital for attaining the millennium
development goals on a war footing. This was stated by Cherie
Booth, wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, during her
visit to Bassian near Balakot on April 12.
Ms. Cherie, who was accompanied by Dr. Nasim Ashraf, Minister
of State & Chairman NCHD along with board members of Pakistan
Human Development Fund, visited a transitional school for
girls in Bassian. The school established by NCHD in collaboration
with UNICEF, built on the concept of “school in a box”,
is extremely popular amongst the local community, as it puts
no additional burden like purchase of books or stationary
on students or parents.
Cherie Booth also visited the Adult Female Literacy Center
of NCHD in Bassian and asked various questions from local
teachers and students.
Above:
Visit of Cherie Booth to an NCHD school |
Talking
to the media at the NCHD School Bassian, Cherie said that
no country in the world could prosper without the proper education
of women. She said that women of Pakistan could contribute
a great deal to the growth of their families and community.
While distributing certificates amongst the female literacy
graduate of the NCHD Literacy Center she highly praised the
efforts of the National Commission for Human Development in
spreading the light of education amongst people at the grassroots
level.
Dr Nasim Ashraf, Chairman NCHD, informed Cherie that 389 female
literacy centers have so far been established in Mansehra
district from where 9562 students have graduated so far. He
said that the NCHD in collaboration with UNICEF has opened
500 transitional schools in the district.
The Chairman NCHD said that volunteers of the National Commission
for Human Development played a key role in the rescue operations
following the October 8 earthquake.
Cherie evinced keen interest in the NCHD health care program
that is focused on reducing infant and maternal mortality
ratio and vaccination, growth monitoring, school health program
and ORS preparation . Highlighting the enormous success of
the ORS program, Dr. Nasim Ashraf said that so far 229825
mothers in Mansehra district have been trained in ORS preparation
which had a profound effect in controlling the infant mortality
rate in the remote district.
Ms Cherie Blair remarked, “It is a wonderful lesson
to their children to see them going to school and learning
and there fore, so much better able to help them….This
individual as well as collectives endeavor also gives a strong
lesson that that there is nothing that a woman cannot do if
she is given the chance.” In the background, the village
women cheered aloud, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
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