Moot addresses population challenges in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Population Program Wing (PPW) of the Ministry of Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (M/o NHSRC) in collaboration with the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (L&JCP) is organizing a National Conference ‘Resilient Pakistan: Calibrating Population and Resources” on   14-15 July, 2023 in Auditorium of the Supreme Court of Pakistan at Islamabad. Pakistan is the 5th most populous country of the world with a population almost 240 million people. It has one of the highest population growth rate and total fertility rate in the region; and a low contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) of around 35%.  The Population and Housing Census 2017 revealed numerous challenges, including 40% of the population living below the poverty line, 22.8 million children out of school, 9.5 million (38%) stunted children and around 10,000 maternal deaths per year. Moreover, rapidly growing population has posed many environmental challenges such as the scarcity and depletion of natural resources such as water, forests, green gases, clean air etc. It is also impacting the social and development sectors including education, employment, national savings and finances. Recognizing the consequences of rapid population growth, the Supreme Court of Pakistan took Suo Moto Notice and established a National Task Force on Population & Family Planning. The Task Force developed a set of recommendations which were endorsed by the Supreme Court and approved by the Council of Common Interest (CCI). These recommendations aim to increase the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) to 50% by 2024 and 60% by 2030, lower the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) to 2.8 and 2.2 by 2024 and 2030 respectively, and reduce the Population Growth Rate (PG) to 1.5% by 2024 and 1.1% by 2030. Based on these recommendations, a National Action Plan (2019-24) was launched, incorporating the best practices practiced by our neighboring countries such as Bangladesh, Turkey and Iran. Resultantly, the government has taken strategic actions, including the establishment of the Federal Task Force and Provincial Task Forces, the creation of the Pakistan Population Fund, the formulation of a National Narrative on Population/Family Planning, and the establishment of a Parliamentary Forum for Population. The provincial governments have also initiated integration of family planning in healthcare, expansion of Lady Health Workers (LHWs) for enhanced outreach, expansion of contraceptive choices, steps towards contraceptive commodity security, pre-marital counseling, and discouragement of child marriages. The purpose of this conference is to take stock of the achievements, identify the difficulties faced, preempt the emerging challenges, and deliberate upon as to how best we can address population and development agenda in Pakistan and as to how we can achieve the targets of National Population Action Plan, Pakistan’s Commitments at ICPD25 Nairobi Summit, Pakistan’s Commitments for FP2030 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Conference will assemble the relevant national and provincial political leadership, national and provincial program managers and the implementing partners in the public and private sector, legal fraternity, development partners, diplomats, academia, religious scholars, population champions in the civil society, youth leadership, women champions and media, among others. The Conference will provide a forum to advocate population issue as a matter of human rights. It will create an opportunity to sensitize the stakeholders on the gravity of the situation and its logical consequence. Previously, out of the three main determinants of the rapid population growth, operational dimension has been emphasized. The Conference will focus on the ‘social determinants’ and reforms in the policies of relevant sectors that are linked with the population. The Conference will provide a platform to the implementing partners to highlight their achievements and come up with new vigor that could create a momentum for an accelerated implementation of the Action Plan. It will allow the policy makers and planners to collect experts’ opinion to sharpen the national vision on population and introduce changes in the Action Plan. It would be a call upon national and provincial political leadership, national and provincial program managers and the implementing partners in the public and private sector, and international development partners to come up and commit their best to address Pakistan’s fundamental issue of rapidly growing population.