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PESHAWAR, Oct 03 (APP):In a significant step towards ensuring the protection and welfare of children in the merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a Child Protection Unit (CPU) was inaugurated in District Bajaur on Thursday.
The CPU aims to safeguard and promote the rights of children, providing prevention and response to cases of child abuse, neglect, and exploitation, said a press release issued here.
The Chief Guest was Additional Secretary Social Welfare Department KP, Muhammad Farooq, Director Social Welfare Department (MDs), Muhammad Naeem, Deputy Commissionaire Bajaur Shahid Ali, Obaid Ur Rahman Deputy Director Social Welfare MDs, representatives from members of District Child Protection Committee Bajaur, Male and female members of the community Based Child Protection Committees. The establishment of this CPU reflects the Government’s strong commitment to ensuring the protection of children at risk and fostering a safer environment for the most vulnerable members of society.
In his Opening Remarks, the Additional Secretary, Social Welfare, Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, expressed his appreciation to the Department of Social Welfare for the successful inauguration of the Child Protection Unit Bajaur.
He said that the establishment of Child Protection Unit, is a direct response to this persistent need, adding that children face various forms of abuse, neglect, and exploitation, here and it was a shared responsibility to build stronger systems to protect them from all forms of abuse and exploitation.
He said the unit would focus on identifying, preventing, and responding to child at risk, ensuring their fundamental rights to life, development, participation, and protection.
Muhammad Farooq also stressed the importance of collective action in addressing the complex challenges of child abuse, violence, exploitation, and neglect.
He urged all relevant line departments to closely collaborate with the CPU Bajaur and emphasized the significance of building strong partnerships with parents and communities to create a protective environment for children.
He thanked to UNICEF, especially Sohail Ahmad Child Protection Specialist for his continuous technical and financial support for the Child Protection in MDs, and he hoped that the partnership would continue in future to provide every possible support to protect child rights.
In his remarks, Deputy Commissionaire Bajaur Shahid Ali added that the establishment of the Child Protection Unit is a direct response to the protection needs of the child at risk.
“Our responsibility is to strengthen systems that will protect children from abuse, neglect, exploitation and provide them a safe environment.” He added that District Child Protection Committees had been notified under the KP Child Protection Act 2010, chaired by the Deputy Commissioner which reflected the Government’s commitment at the district level to uphold children’s rights.
This committee held monthly meetings, served as a platform for discussing child protection challenges and formulating strategies to improve referrals and case management processes, he informed.
On the occasion, he presented the journey of child protection system development in KP with a focus on the Child Protection data in MDs and shared statistics of District Khyber with participants.
At the end of the event ribbon cutting ceremony of the Child Protection Unit, District Bajaur was held. Additional Secretary Muhammad Farooq, Director Social Welfare MDs, Muhammad Naeem, Deputy Commissionaire Bajaur Shahid Ali, Obaid Ur Rahman Deputy Director Social Welfare MDs and Staff of PMU and CPU Bajaur attended the ceremony.
The Director of Social Welfare (MDs), Muhammad Naeem extended thanks to UNICEF for their ongoing support in strengthening the Child Protection Units in MDs.
He acknowledged UNICEF’s valuable contributions to building the capacity of staff, enhancing the effectiveness of the community-based Child Protection Committees (CB-CPC), and supporting district-level training initiatives for the social workforce. These efforts have significantly improved the referral and case management system, he added.