Give youth a chance

The health statistics of the whole province (North West Frontier Province, NWFP) are nothing short of a health disaster. These numbers are further worsened by the influx of millions of Afghan refugees who have made the province their home for the past three decades or so. We, as part of UM Healthcare Trust, are involved in building a free hospital for the rural community of the Mardan District and also a site for our Tele-healthcare initiative.

Location	District Mardan, NWFP, Pakistan
Populationon	1.6 Million
District Hospitals	2
Basic Health Units	50
Infant Mortality Rate	76/1000 child births
Maternal Mortality	201/1000 live births

For a population of over 1.6 million in Mardan District, there are just 2 district hospitals with a less than hundred beds. The Basic Health Units (BHUs) are one room clinics and if operational (usually they are locked with no one on duty) sometimes manned by a doctor or a healthcare professional. The primary purpose of these units is to provide vaccinations (especially to children) and occasional trainings on preventive medicine (to the rural population). It is no wonder that 70% of the population of Pakistan (WHO statistic) never gets to see a doctor in their entire life. For a country of 160 Million people, that is a gigantic population (almost 110 million) without access to basic healthcare.

The north of the Pakistan suffers from heavy unemployment as well. Major source of jobs in NWFP includes agriculture, mining of precious stones, granite/marble quarries, and government jobs. Other than these, there are hardly any other job opportunities for the youth. The industrialization and economic uplift that we get to see in major metropolitan cities like Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad is totally non-existent here. In other words, the economic boom (that has griped the urban centers of the country) has had little impact on the rural communities.

The government school system in the rural areas has also not grown over the years. In fact, it is straining under the pressure of over population. The private schools are too expensive and therefore the local communities never send their children to study. With the result, an uneducated population grows up that has no real prospect of securing jobs even in the more competitive bigger cities. Those who still want to get an education then prefer to enroll in the local religious schools called, madarasas.

With no employment, no healthcare and no prospects of a better life, many of the talented, prefer to emigrate or work abroad especially in the Middle East. They spend years toiling in the heat of the desert without seeing their families for years while sending back precious dinars so that their kids could one day have a better life.

But not all are lucky to find a job locally or go abroad. Those with no sustained income usually end up being pulled into the lucrative drug trade between the Afghanistan and Pakistan border areas. Or as it is now commonly happening, become members of some radical religious organization.

These youths are victim of their environment and society. If we want them to succeed and give up drug trade and put down their AK-47s and suicide bombings then we need to give them what is their basic right as a human being. Namely, a chance for a better education, improved healthcare and ability to become entrepreneurs (or have secure jobs). No amount of carpet bombing or military actions can stop them from becoming radical. But a book, a job and better health can transform them and their families forever.

Edhi Foundation, Central Asia Institute, The Citizen's Foundation and many other such non-profits believe that the world can be a better place if we just give youth a chance. Sadly, this doctrine is lost on the current leaders of the world who are bent upon changing the world with their might, bombs and cruise missiles.