AsiaNet-Pakistan Premier Editorial Content and Press Release Distribution Service
Islamabad, A three-day workshop on the implementation status of the National Action Plan (NAP) on Population (2019-24) and the bottlenecks causing hurdles in reducing the population growth rate in Pakistan began today. The event, organized by the Population Programme Wing, Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination, focuses on the alarming population growth rate, which has reached 2.5% in 2024. The workshop aims to identify the challenges and obstacles contributing to this increase.
According to Press Information Department, Dr. Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath, Prime Minister’s Coordinator on Health Services, opened the workshop, emphasizing the Prime Minister’s concern about issues related to polio, family planning, and nutrition. He expressed the need for a collaborative strategy to tackle these challenges and highlighted the importance of collective problem-solving among all stakeholders.
The workshop includes representatives from Provincial Population Welfare and Health Departments, civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and international donor agencies such as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The aim is to assess the progress of the National Action Plan on Population and identify the reasons behind the increase in the population growth rate from 2.4% in 2017 to 2.5% in 2024.
Dr. Bharath expressed gratitude to UNFPA for its continued support and stressed the need for integrating family planning into the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) to enhance service delivery. He proposed merging the Lady Health Worker program into the Population Welfare Department at the provincial level and encouraged participants to focus on practical issues instead of contentious topics affecting national security and unity.
The coordinator urged participants to share insights from their respective regions and to work towards a comprehensive strategy to address unmet needs, universal coverage, and unwanted pregnancies. He expressed optimism that the workshop would lead to meaningful recommendations and advocacy at the provincial and regional levels, with a special thank you to UNFPA for its steadfast support.