The essays in this collection explore the multifaceted crises affecting children in Pakistan, emphasizing the urgent need for intervention. The chapters address a wide range of themes, from the quality of immunization and education to more intricate issues within homes and family settings, such as indoor air pollution, parental smoking and substance use, and child marriages. Broader societal challenges, including the impact of developmental projects, conflicts, and climate change, are also examined.

This book aims to offer innovative and evidence-based insights to professionals, researchers, students, and NGOs with an interest in child welfare. It serves as a resource for those looking to prioritize children’s wellbeing in their future research endeavors. By integrating perspectives from diverse social science disciplines into a single volume, the book contributes significantly to the empirical literature on children’s issues in the Pakistani context.

Asma Hyder is a Professor and Dean of the School of Economics and Social Sciences at the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi, Pakistan. She is a Research Affiliate at the Population Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA. Her research interest focuses on development, including health, the social sector in general, labor market issues and wellbeing. Her major contribution in literature is the empirical investigation of households’ behavior toward labor market decisions and child welfare during climatic and negative economic shocks in developing and poorest societies of the world.