LAHORE, July 12: Finance Excise and Taxation Minister Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman says the government has focused on the health of infants and mothers while Rs2 billion have been allocated in the budget in this regard.

Talking to various delegations on Friday in regard to the World Population Day, the minister said the integrated Reproductive Newborn and Child Health and Nutrition Programme had recently been launched in all districts while work on legislation was under way for the establishment of the Punjab Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Authority.

He said the Punjab government would spend Rs102 billion for the provision of standardized healthcare facilities to the masses during the current fiscal year.

Mr Rehman said the population growth rate in developing countries was three to seven per cent whereas it was 0.5 per cent in Japan, 0.3 per cent in Germany, 0.1 per cent in England and one per cent in the United States.

He said it was the dire need for creating awareness among people for ill-affects of a rapid increase in population as it could only multiply problems for the nation. He said the present over six billion world’s population would be doubled in 2050 while Pakistan’s population would be doubled in 2024.

He said a project had been launched in collaboration with the UNFPA to increase the accessibility of quality reproductive health services, including family planning, and to enhance understanding of adverse consequences of rapid population growth.

The minister said the government had given a priority to health and education departments because the rapid growth in population could not be controlled without providing quality healthcare and educational facilities to the masses at the grass root level.