KARACHI: Experts at a seminar have expressed concerns over the government’s fai­l­ure to take effective steps to control rising population and implement family planning strategies and described the problem as a leading cause of increasing poverty, illiteracy, homelessness, and malnutrition in the country.

The seminar, titled “The Citiz­ens Population Dialogue” was org­a­­nised by the Pakistan Medical Ass­o­ciation (PMA) at its office on Sunday.

The experts warned that the unc­ontrolled growth was a ticking time bomb, steadily depleting nat­i­onal resources, straining the economy, and impeding social progress.

They emphasised that family plan­ning was a societal issue rat­her than a religious one, and called for inclusion of sociologists in fut­ure seminars to provide a deeper understanding of this critical challenge.

‘Ethnic dimension of population growth’

Call for ensuring contraceptive security, ulema support

Addressing the gathering, renowned economist Dr Kaiser Bengali said that research data which he had analysed, indicated an “ethnic dimension” of the issue of population growth.

“Population growth is highest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — at 27.7 per cent — followed by Balo­chistan — at 17.3pc,” he pointed out while citing figures from the 2017-2023 census to illustrate the trend.

Referring to Lyari as an example, Dr Bengali said each household accommodated about eight to nine people.

“Malnutrition is highly prevalent, and according to the findings, people consume tea excessively as it helps curb hunger,” he said while citing the findings of another survey.

“I conducted a survey in Swat where I had observed that rooms often lacked windows, and typically, there were eight to 10 children in each household. In various other areas where I worked, it was found that households commonly had five to six children,” he shared.

Gynaecologist Dr Rahat Qure­shi said: “It is no secret that existing resources that are present in the country are depleting and people are fast becoming deprived of basic necessities including water and gas.”

‘Unmet need for family planning’

Sharing figures from the Pakistan Demo­graphic Heath Survey 2017, Dr Qureshi said that currently there were 17pc married women with unmet need for family planning, which meant that they wanted to use family planning but they could not because the services and methods were not available to them.

She added that one-third of currently married women who were not using contraception methods intended to use family planning at some time in future.

She said that the survey findings clearly indicated the unmet need for contraception.

“The data published by the government of Pakistan shows that contraceptive prevalence rate has increased from 1984 to 2017,” Dr Qureshi said.

She added that, according to the survey, 21pc of women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 17pc in erstwhile FATA had unmet family planning needs, adding that in Balochistan and Sindh, the figure stood at 18pc, while in Punjab it was 27pc.

She pointed out that 49pc women had children without having family planning.

Dr Qureshi shared her concerns while sharing a survey conducted by The Population Council in 2023-24, which found that “women in Pakistan are using abortion as a method of birth control”.

She recommended that there should be legislation on family planning and child marriage restraint.

She also called for ensuring contraceptive security and sought support from ulema through training courses on family planning.

At the seminar, researcher and columnist Nikhat Sattar spoke about the misconception that family planning was against Islam.

She explained that the Quranic verse, “Do not kill your children for fear of poverty”, which was often cited in this context, was revealed to stop the then-prevalent practice of burying newborn girls alive out of financial fear. “Family planning is permissible in Islam,” she added.

Another, speaker Dr Nighat Shah, head of the gynaecology department at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, said that family planning had been the domain of non-governmental organisations which got huge donations in its name. While they did carry out some good work, “sustainability” was missing in their work, she added.

She recommended that academic and institutional heads come together for the benefit of the community and people while stressing the need for engaging youth, doctors of tomorrow through research and digital platforms.

“Family planning should be an essential part of curriculum and assessments at undergraduate and postgraduate levels,” she said. “Academic institutions should involve youth for sustainable change and this can be done through digital or AI platforms.”

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2024