Launching Ceremony – Pakistan

Launching Ceremony – Pakistan Civil Society Alliance For Tobacco Control

Human Development Foundation held an event on March 11, 2019, at PC Hotel, Peshawar. The purpose of the event was to create an alliance between Civil Society Organizations, Academia, youth groups and media to advocate for legislative changes at the provincial and federal level regarding elimination tobacco use in Pakistan. The event was attended by representatives from Media, students from City University and University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar. CSOs from Swabi, Mardan, Swat, D. I. Khan, and Peshawar also attended the event.

Mr. Azhar Saleem, CEO-HDF, shared the history of tobacco and its consumption and highlighted the efforts HDF has been putting in for advocating for the reduction of tobacco use in Pakistan. Mr. Zahid Shafiq, HDF explained the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to which Pakistan became a signatory in 2005.

Pakistani youth. Mr. Sanaullah Ghumman, PANAH, talked about the decade long collaborative efforts of PANAH and HDF with regards to the effective implementation of the guidelines of FCTC in Pakistan. He then emphasized the need for stronger and dedicated collaboration between different stakeholders in order to positively influence the government at the provincial and federal level to fully implement the FCTC.

Participants showed great interest in becoming part of the Alliance for Tobacco Control. Many participants pledged to advocate for tobacco control through their organization’s platform and outreach base. Participants also shared suggestions as part of strategies that the alliance can adopt for more effective advocacy for stricter legislation on tobacco use.


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