Chakwal, August 26: A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing meeting was held between PODA and the office of the Chief Executive Officer, District Health Department, Chakwal, on Monday, to formalize collaboration in implementing awareness-raising activities under the project “Reduce Early Marriages to Enhance Gender Equality” funded by the Norwegian Embassy in Islamabad. During the MOU signing meeting, Dr. Anjum Qadeer, Chief Executive Officer – Health, District Chakwal, appreciated PODA’s efforts in protecting the rights of children, particularly adolescent girls. He guaranteed an effective partnership with PODA, stating that within the next month, he would invite PODA to present their case on reducing child marriages to a specialized audience of health professionals, with the aim of securing endorsement from the medical fraternity of the district to increase minimum age of marriage of girls to 18 years.

The PODA team, comprising Nabeela Aslam, Project Manager, Naheeda Abbasi, Manager of the PODA Rural Women Network for Civic Leadership and Participation, and Bakhtawar Bashir Mirza, Manager-Admin and HR, met with other staff members of the District Health Authority, including Dr. Muhammad Shahbaz, District Health Officer (DHO), and Dr. Rahat Raza, APWMO/DTC, DHA, /District TB Coordinator.

The PODA team met with Dr. Abdul Waheed, CEO of the District Education Authority, and received appreciation for the organization’s work on the constitutional right of children, as enshrined in Article 25-A of the constitution. During the meeting, the PODA team provided a briefing on their initiatives. Dr. Waheed welcomed the opportunity for collaboration and offered his department’s intensive support to PODA, focusing on addressing the issue of out-of-school children in the district, on which his office is already working.

The PODA team held a separate meeting with Waseem Abbas, Deputy Director of the District Social Welfare Department, Chakwal, who expressed keen interest in PODA’s activities and projects. He expressed his commitment to tackling the issue of child marriages in the district and assured the PODA of his full support in their efforts to address this critical issue.