ISLAMABAD: Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmed on Wednesday said that people needed to be enlightened regarding the overwhelming challenge of population explosion.

He was meeting the Deputy Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Ms Latika Maskey Pradhan at Health Ministry.

The meeting was also attended by programme specialist UNFPA Dr Jameel, DG population Dr Shabana along with other senior officers of the Ministry.

According to a statement, the meeting underscored the issues related to family planning, child and maternal nutrition, and the challenges posed by population explosion.

Stressing the need for family planning, Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmed said: “we couldn’t impose the family planning, but we would educate the common man regarding its impact on him and his family.

Ministry of Health and UNFPA will collaborate to organise a conference on the issue and would come out with the recommendations that would help the common man to understand the negative impacts of overpopulation.”

He also referred to the world reports that Pakistan would become a water scarce country by 2030 due to its ever increasing population.

Dy Representative UNFPA acknowledged government interest and actions to avert the challenges concerning to public health, unwanted pregnancies, and overpopulation.

She reiterated that UNFPA would extend all its support and cooperation to the government to implement evidence-based interventions aimed at reducing unintended pregnancies.

“This includes promoting awareness campaigns and strengthening healthcare systems to provide quality reproductive health services,” she added.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2024