ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan on Wednesday said that enormous population growth had put severe pressure on the limited resources of the country such as water, energy and environment, in addition to affecting the health and well-being of mothers and children.

Speaking at a seminar to mark the ‘World Population Week 2021’ he said government had prioritised the population agenda and was committed to promoting the family planning for bringing a balance between the population growth and local resources.

Pakistan is the world’s fifth most populous country, with the population of over 220 million. Pakistan has the highest population growth rate among the regional countries at 2.4pc which means an addition of over 3 million people every year.

Under the national action plan, government has allocated Rs1,000 million for Pakistan Population Fund to enhance capacity in the supply and coverage services.

SAPM emphasised the need to focus on two basic factors for addressing the population issues; education, especially the girl’s education and general health services and well-being of the population.

He said this would lead to improvement in family planning agenda and welfare. He said that other specific measures to address the unmet need of family planning, government would put all resources required to implement this holistic and multi-pronged approach.

He urged all the stakeholders and provincial governments to serve the vulnerable segment of the society, especially women, during pandemic situation of Covid-19.

Additional Secretary Ministry of National Health Services Dr Syed Attaur Rehman said that government was focused to address the population issues.

“There is a need to reach to the couples, families and communities with an innovative and rationale approach,” he said.

Council of Islamic Ideology Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz said: “Parents have the right to freely and responsibly decide the number and spacing of their children to fulfill the fundamental rights of their children and family by maintaining a balance between their family size and resources. The government and society have the responsibility to facilitate parents to achieve this balance by providing universal access to family planning information and services.”

He said that Council of Islamic Ideology has developed recommendations to address the minor-age marriages.

“The council is focused to bring ‘Minber and Mehrab’ on board for the agenda of family planning and reproductive health,” he added.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2021