ludUO

the country, adoption of the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act
2012 at the federal level, decline in the number of polio cases and declaration
of 2013 as the year of child rights. The release of Rimsha Masih, a 14-yearold
Christian girl accused of blasphemy, in November was hailed as a step
forward in exposing the targeting of citizens on unfounded charges under this
law. The decision was preceded by worldwide condemnation of the case.
Health
The Economic Survey of Pakistan 2011-2012 reported that the country
lagged behind other South Asian countries in terms of the infant mortality rate,
which was 63.26 deaths per 1,000 births, and the under-five year mortality
rate at 86.5 per 1,000 live births. There was a marginal decline in both
compared to the preceding year but it was still inadequate to meet the Millennium
Development Goals. Pakistan Medical Association blames low expenditure on
the health sector for the dismal state of health in Pakistan and has recommended
that at least six percent of the GDP should be spent on health.
Pakistan continues to be one of the only three countries in the world
where polio still exists—the other two being Afghanistan and Nigeria. In 2011,
198 polio cases were reported in 60 districts of Pakistan, while in 2012, 58
cases were reported from 28 districts including Gilgit, its first ever case of
polio. The polio vaccination refusals also declined by about 60%, when
compared to 2011. According to the Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative and
UNICEF, over 0.5 million children were missed in the October polio campaign,
which included 45,000 refusals. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA remained the
most difficult regions for administration of polio vaccine due to presence of
Taliban militants who had banned immunization. This was especially the case
in South and North Waziristan, where consequently the highest number of
polio cases was reported in 2012 - KP (27) and FATA (20). Five female health
workers vaccinating children against polio were also shot dead in Pakistan in
a series of attacks blamed on Islamist militants. One victim was a 17-year-old
schoolgirl who had volunteered to work as a vaccinator.
Pakistan faced a measles outbreak late in 2012 as a result of which at least
306 children lost their lives. The measles incidence in 2012 witnessed a surge
of nearly five times over the previous year when a total of 64 fatalities were
reported. The jump was most pronounced in the Sindh province, where measles
killed 210 children in 2012 whereas 28 children had died there the previous
year. A total of 14,687 measles cases were recorded during 2012 (as against
3,890 in 2011) and 1,879 of these cases were reported from the flood-affected
districts. World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that the drastic rise in
different parts of Pakistan resulted from inadequate routine immunizations
coverage. As per a survey of Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement
(2010–2011), Pakistan’s routine immunization coverage for measles was nearly
65 percent which fell considerably short of the optimal routine immunization
179
State of Human Rights in 2012