Punjab Minister of Health and Population Welfare Dr. Jamal Nasir has said that the provincial government was taking all necessary steps to prevent overpopulation and family planning.
This was stated by him while speaking as chief guest of a seminar organized at the Punjab Arts Council (PAC) in collaboration with the District Population Welfare office Rawalpindi under the title “Alarming population growth rate and family planning”.
Addressing the seminar, Dr. Jamal Nasir said that according to the results of the latest census, Pakistan has become the fifth most populous country in the world after India, China, America and Indonesia. The world is facing poverty. This year, the total population of the world will increase by eight billion people. The current rate of population growth in Pakistan is about 2.7% which is very high compared to international standards, he added.
District Officer for Population Welfare, Rawalpindi, ShireenSukhan, said that population growth is the main cause of development challenges facing Pakistan. This results in an alarming increase in poverty, illiteracy, gender inequality, environmental pollution, maternal and child mortality. Ensuring access to high-quality family planning services can provide a sustainable solution to all these problems, she added.
Director Arts Council Waqar Ahmed said that the gap between available resources and population can be reduced by reducing the rate of population growth. But we just need to change our way of thinking. Rapid population growth is the biggest challenge facing the country and it can be tackled with effective cooperation of scholars, media and civil society.