Senate body for early registration of women, children affectees
By Bushra Rafique

ISLAMABAD—The Senate Standing Committee on Social Welfare and Special Education, has appreciated the contribution of national and international organizations in rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts in earthquake affected areas
The committee further suggested that there should be coordination in these activities to ensure proper and timely relief to the victims of this national catastrophe. The committee which met in the Parliament House here with Senator Dr, Mrs, Nighat Agha in the chair made thess observations while having a briefing on the Social-Welfare projects being planned and executed for the earthquake victims of NWFP and AJK,says a press release of Senate Secretariat.
Noor Saghir Khan, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Social and Special Education informed the Committee that immediately after the unfortunate incident, the Ministry constituted two teams, one for Mansehra and the other for Muzaffarabad These teams had to help in relief and rehabilitation operation for quake affectees in collaboration with UNICEF.
These teams are preparing database of affected children/women on the basis of which short term / long term plans would be chalked out for their rehabilitation on permanent Giving a brief overview of the services provided by the Ministry and the organizations working under it, he said that 260 children were registered in Mansehra and 1000 children in AJK for providing child friendly spaces in three different camps located at Basian near Balakot, Boys College Balakot and at Garhi Habibullah. A vocational training centre for affected women was also established at Basian, Balakot having the capacity to train 700 women. Linkages were built between UN agencies, local political leadership and international NGOs to provide assistance to the victims, besides providing counseling and guidance services to the patients, he added. The Committee was further informed that setting up shelter homes for destitute victims and orphanages for the quake victim children were being planned.
The Members of the Committee were of the view that the issues concerning rescue, relief and rehabilitation were of critical nature and that the window of time available was not only short but shrinking day by day. It was suggested that registration of children and women affected by the earthquake should be carried out on war footings and the Ministry should come out with a plan to attract donors from foreign countries willing to donate limbs.
The Committee recommended that centers should be setup for trauma treatment of women and children. It also suggested that more vocational centres should be setup besides setting up of senior citizens homes. Pakistan Bait-ul-Mall was advised to allocate more funds for providing medicines to the poor and needy patients.