KATHMANDU:  A meeting of lawmakers of the South Asian countries has begun in Kathmandu on Thursday to discuss the overall status of children of the region and share initiatives taken for the welfare of children in their home countries. Lawmakers from Nepal, India and Bangladesh looking after the issues of children are present in the meeting, according to Ranju Kumari Jha, the President of Women, Children, Senior Citizens and Social Welfare Committee under the Legislature-Parliament. Addressing the programme, UNICEF South Asia Regional Director Jean Gough said South Asian countries could not invest sufficiently in health, education and social security sectors as most the countries collected minimum tax compared to the gross domestic product. Gough also suggested that the lawmakers should make positive influence on programmes, policies and budget meant for children for better results. The meeting organised by the UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia and the UNICEF Nepal Office is supported by the Parliamentary Committee. Child mortality remains as a common and one of the major problems of the South Asian countries. Nepal is on the 63rd position of the world report on the child mortality rate. Still around 30 million South Asian school-age children are out of school, according to President Jha.